Dementia Returns!
by Cherry Flavored Arsenic
Summary: UPDATED 5.11.03! Daft reveals the origin of the evil THING and then they head off towards the final confrontation!
1. PART ONE

|Dementia Taken Over|  
  
|PART ONE|  
  
[Darkness and a light at the end of the tunnel. Eager to get to the light, you run towards it, things wiz past you as you run. You can hear the beat of a heart, and your mind races from last episode along with your now pacing heart. Suddenly, the screen goes white, and fades into black again. The camera seems to still, and settle on one patch of darkness. You can hear the faint raspy breathing from somewhere in the darkness. You hold really still so not to upset whatever is breathing heavily in the dark. Taking a cautious step forward, you try to see through the darkness by squinting your eyes. Alas, there's nothing there to see with the evil blanket of darkness weighing in on your eyes. You sigh as you stand there, not familiar with the surrounding and not sure if you want to walk on and risk bumping into the thing that's breathing heavily. Then, suddenly, before you can do anything else, something grabs you by your arm and slaps a hand over your mouth quickly while pulling you to the left before you have a chance to escape!  
  
There's a slight shuffling noise and you're hauled over the doorstep and into a room where the door shuts and a tiny locking sound is heard. A flashlight comes to your eyes as familiar light fills the small room which turns out to be a janitor's closet. There in the small flood of light are two familiar faces! Daft and Filler Bunny smile and wave at you, Daft looks very worried. She starts to speak in a whisper.]  
  
"Welcome Dementia fans. I'm sorry for the lack of light in here, but it makes it easier to hide from that...THING...out there that's after us. What a crazy time this has been! We haven't been able to rest for more than a half an hour because that thing always figures out where we are and comes after us! We've been split up from the rest of the group and I have no clue where any of them are or if they're ok or not! It's so frustrating, not knowing! But tonight, I plan to find everyone and take back Dementia! We're not gonna let some evil thing scare us away!"  
  
[Filler Bunny cheers and jumps up and down in joy as Daft gets a look of determination on her face.]  
  
"What are we gonna do, Daft? They could be ANYWHERE!"  
  
"Yes. I know. This place is HUGE too, but where ever they are, let's not forget that they'll group up too. Let's just hope that Zim doesn't kill Dib in the process..."  
  
"That would be extremely bad. What are we waiting for!? Let's go find our friends! Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"  
  
[With that, Daft and Filler Bunny nod and shut off their flashlight, opening the door slightly, their eyes being adjusted to the darkness by now, and slip out of the doorway and down the hall. The heavy breathing can be heard from a corner farther away and moving towards the closet they just escaped from. Hurriedly, they slide down the hall into the darkness looking for their friends. Unknown to them, Zim and Azka are making their way slowly down the hall on the other side of the building, headed towards the member's lounge. Zim grumbles as they slide along, cursing Dib under his breath. Azka seems more than happy to be stuck alone with Zim and isn't complaining at all, though she is looking a bit paranoid. As they reached the room and peered around the corner before entering, Dib was walking down the very dimly lit Dementia Corridor, muttering to himself in a crazy fashion.]  
  
"Stupid evil, evil thing of DOOM! Stupid Zim...chasing me around with that bat! Stupid Daft and her stupid disadvantages! Stupid Azka for opening that stupid door...Great...just watch. I'll probably be picked off first. Just like in all those horror movies or in all those stupid evil stories where I'm always the first to go! Why?!?!"  
  
[Dib stops at a tiny sound, listens and then decides it was nothing. He goes back to grumbling just as Zim and Azka were deciding whether or not to enter the lounge. Azka leaned over to whisper in Zim's ear as to not draw attention to their position.]  
  
"Be quiet! Look, if we go down the hall then I'd be even more paranoid, and that would make you want to kill me. And I don't want to die. Let's go in here..."  
  
"You..."  
  
[Azka, anticipating a stupid remark from Zim clasped her hand over his mouth and shushed him. Zim glared at her and raised the metal bat up slightly. Azka stared at him but kept her hand on his mouth. They stood there for a few seconds like that until Azka lowered her hand slightly. Zim opened his mouth to make another rude comment, but she slapped her hand back over his mouth. Every time she lowered it, he'd make to say something else. She'd place her hand over his mouth again, not allowing him to speak and shushed him with a paranoid look. This went on for several minuets before Zim finally gave up and kept his mouth shut. Azka then went over to the door to the lounge and put her ear up to it. She waited silently to see if there was any movement from inside. Nothing. Zim looked at her with a frown on his face.]  
  
"Just what are you doing?"  
  
"Checking. That thing could be anywhere!"  
  
"So? I've got a metal bat. THAT THING DOES NOT SCARE ZIM!"  
  
[Azka flew over and clamped a hand on his mouth again.]  
  
"SHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! You'll alert that thing to our very secret location!"  
  
"Just my luck...I'm stuck with you! An overly paranoid..."  
  
"Quiet!"  
  
"Well...It could be worse...I could be stuck with that Dib-beast! Argh! I hate him soooo much!"  
  
"Shhhhh!"  
  
"Stupid Dib...head...THING! Always getting in my way!"  
  
"Will you be quiet already?!"  
  
[Azka peered under the door to check for light before turning to Zim glaring angrily at him, eye twitching a bit. She spoke in harsh whispers, trying to keep her voice under control, as well as her temper.]  
  
"Listen already! If you don't shut up, that thing will come and...DO STUFF TO US! Evil...horrible...STUFF! evil...evil...horribly horrible...STUUUUFFFF!"  
  
"I've got a bat..."  
  
"That's not my point! Look...stop complaining about Dib already! I'm sure he's off somewhere all by himself in this creepy place of shadows talking to himself all crazy-like! Now...let's focus on trying NOT to get caught by that thing out there! OK?"  
  
[Zim opened his mouth to shoot back a reply, but Azka was already turning the doorknob to the door. It turned slowly and steadily until a small click was heard. Pushing the door open slowly, she peered inside. Just as Azka was peering inside, Daft was peering about the corner with Filler Bunny sitting all cute-like on her head. She blinked and slid around the corner, pressing flat up against it and looking about in the dark for familiar landmarks. Filler Bunny sat upon her head backwards, watching their backs for the evil that hid in the shadows.]  
  
"Anything yet Filler Bunny?"  
  
"Nope!"  
  
"Good. Which way should we go? Dementia Halls..."  
  
"Creepy!"  
  
"Lounge?"  
  
"The Mad Cow lives there."  
  
"Wait! We'll go to the backroom! There'll have to be a phone there. We can call out for help!"  
  
"Um...Daft?"  
  
"Not now! We have to go!"  
  
"Is it normal for the hall to suddenly be set on fire?"  
  
"WHAT?"  
  
[Daft turned around suddenly as a small fire started to lick up the walls of the hall they had just slid into. With wide eyes she ran about looking for a fire extinguisher. Just as they were doing this, Azka and Zim were poking around in the lounge looking for signs of life. Everything was silent and dark with the exception of Zim grumbling under his breath. The place was over turned as if a struggle had gone on there. With a frown on her face, Azka backed up to whisper to Zim slowly.]  
  
"I...think that...we should...leave...."  
  
[Before Zim could even do anything, Azka had grabbed him up by his collar and drug him out of the lounge and down the hall in a frantic, paranoid, sprint. Zim was drug helplessly along behind her, scratching and clawing at the walls as she drug him along, not wanting to be pulled along into peril. They dashed around the corner and ran right into Dib. Toppling over each other and tumbling to the ground, and coming to a halt some feet away. Dib lay on the bottom of the pile, Azka on him and Zim on top of them both, metal bat still clutched tightly in his hands.]  
  
"YOU! DIB! ARGH! I KILL YOU NOW!!!!"  
  
[Zim leapt up, picking Azka up and throwing her off to the side and out of the way. Dib's eyes widened as Zim raised the bat up and over his head dramatically. Azka leapt up.]  
  
"You shall die NOW Earth-Scum! Then I won't have to put up with your PITIFUL attempts to stop my AMAZING PLANS OF DOOM! DIIIIIEEEE!"  
  
[Zim swung the bat downwards towards Dib as he rolled to the side, the bat striking the floor beside him with a metallic ringing sound coming from the impact. He rose his bat again as Dib shot up off the ground. Azka ran over and tackled Zim. He screeched and she clamped a hand over his mouth and grasped the bat with the other hand, holding him down and trying to calm him down as well. Dib stood off to the side glaring and dusting himself off.]  
  
"Shhhhh! Settle down Zim! You don't really want to kill Dib!"  
  
"Nooo! The Dib-worm must die!"  
  
"Hey, Zim, if you kill Dib, then you'll get all depressed like you did in the episode script "Mopiness Of Doom" and you'll get fat and won't be cute no more."  
  
[Zim stopped squirming and lay still, blinking up at Azka all confused-like in that cute little confused way he has. Dib glared at Zim and crossed his arms.]  
  
"Stupid Zim! I'm already miserable enough! I don't need you trying to kill me around every corner!"  
  
"Now, now guys...let's just...get along. We have to stick together or else we risk being captured by that horrible thing of horrible doom! Now...Dib?"  
  
"MY HEAD'S NOT BIG!"  
  
"Wha? No...no your head isn't big Dib, but that's not what I was gonna say...Now...will you listen to me?"  
  
"GET OFF ME YOU PARANOID....THING!"  
  
[Zim pushed Azka off of him and Dib took a step back quickly. Azka regained her composure and grabbed Zim again. Zim grunted and they wrestled for the bat. Dib stood off to the side grumbling and complaining.]  
  
"All I ever wanted to do was get a good job on a show that would actually be fun to work on and would allow me to make some decent money! After the stunt Nick pulled I thought I was doomed to be just another stupid child star! I actually thought this job would be better than the one on Nick! No one ever gives me any respect and Daft is always putting me at a disadvantage in her stories! Just watch! We'll get going and I'll be killed! This is probably just another one of Dementia's Stunts to gain recognition! WHY CAN'T WE JUST DO ONE SINGLE SHOW WHERE I DON'T GET KILLED, MAIMED, OR BEATEN SEVERELY?!"  
  
"Yes, yes...I know you have all of these problems, but don't worry..."  
  
"Release me! RELEASE MEEEEE! Release the Zim or suffer his almighty wrath! AAAAARGH!"  
  
"...I can't even managed to dispose of that stupid green thing over there without a big, unnecessary chase ending with something so extremely stupid and dumb...and...I really just wanna go home..."  
  
"Once we find Daft we can go home, and you can attempt the disposure of Zim again!"  
  
"HE WILL NOT SUCCEED! I AM ZIM! I DO NOT DIE!"  
  
"Then you can lead us! Mr. No-Death! Guys...listen to me...I really think that we should..."  
  
"And what is up with this evil thing anyway? How'd it ever come here in the first place?"  
  
"I really don't know...but I think we should stop fighting and..."  
  
"I'll kill you Dib! With the metal bat! METAL BAT!"  
  
[Dib went on complaining, his voice growing louder as Azka held Zim back and tried to keep her voice under control and Zim from swinging the bat at Dib. The shadows moved behind them a bit.]  
  
"SHUT UP!"  
  
[Dib shut up and Zim stopped squirming as they looked towards Azka.]  
  
"Finally! Now listen. Here's the deal. We are all gonna shut up and look for Daft QUIETLY without killing one another or making it obvious where we are to the killer evil out there. Ok? Good!"  
  
"Fine...but after this is done I'm gonna kill you and feed your intestines to your family for Easter breakfast!!!"  
  
"MOPINESS OF DOOM! Remember the Mopiness of Doom Zim! The horrible fat not- cuteness!"  
  
[Zim turned to Azka to stare at her confused again by that. Dib looked towards the end of the hall, rolling his eyes and muttering under his breath to himself. Zim looked back to Dib to see if he knew what the heck she was talking about, but Dib ignored Zim. In this time, Azka had reached over silently and grasped the top of the bat with both hands. Just as Zim was turning back to her to ask her if she had lost her marbles, she tugged on the bat hard, tearing it from Zim's grasp and sending them both to the ground in opposite directions. Azka leapt up and held the bat in the air proudly. Hero music played in the background as light came up to out line her form. She lowered the bat quickly as she heard breathing coming from the shadows. With wide eyes, she turned around to stare into the shadows, Zim and Dib doing the same.  
  
The breathing continued and it came closer and got raspier and heavier. Azka, remembering the shiny bat in her hands did what any normal paranoid thing would do! She thrust the bat out in front of her like a sword and waved it about wildly in the darkness, not really aiming for anything, yet hoping to hit something. There was a loud THUNK as the metal hit something fleshy in the darkness. Azka screamed, grabbed Zim and Dib by the arms and took off running down the hall. She was half way down there before realizing what had fallen out of the darkness and into the dimly lit hall of Dementia. She stopped, dropping their arms and turned about to see a small child laying on the ground wearing a blue dress. Her long brown hair was messed up and two small red horns stuck out from the mess on either side of her head. She lay curled up and holding her head where the bat had struck her down. She whimpered helplessly and kicked her feet in pain. Dib, Zim, and Azka took a few steps forward and leaned over to get a closer look at the girl.]  
  
"What is it?"  
  
[Azka looked questioningly towards Dib and Zim who were frozen in terror of the small thing.]  
  
"It's....It's...."  
  
"Yes??? It's???"  
  
"It's....LEBOA!"  
|***GAH! WE LIVE! WE LIIIIIIIVE! Yes...Dementia HAS returned...all rumors will be dispelled in our next episode. ^-^ Don't worry...this isn't the end for Dementia yet! Now...GO REVIEW AND READ THE NEXT PART! THE SMILEY HAPPY GERBIL OF DOOM COMMANDS YOU! Yeah...ok...I've lost it finally...ENJOY THE RETURN OF DEMENTIA!!!.....~Daft***| 


	2. PART TWO

|PART TWO|  
  
[Daft sighed and set the fire extinguisher down and slumped to the floor, Filler Bunny doing the same beside her. The fire had scorched the walls, but nothing was too badly damaged. Just as she was putting out the last flame, Zim had been attacking Dib. Now that she was slumped down and resting, the trio had stumbled upon Leboa. Daft looked about in the darkness and then towards Filler Bunny. Filler Bunny hummed and looked up at her.]  
  
"Well? What do we do now?"  
  
"I don't know. Can I be demoted to not talking anymore? I'm running out of cute things to say..."  
  
"Well...Ok...Fine...But you at least have to grin or frown or shake your head or do something extremely cute that will get the audience going 'Awwww' in response...I don't wanna look like a total psycho!"  
  
"Squeak!"  
  
"That's better, but that's kinda MiniMoose's trademark..."  
  
"But...I didn't do anything..."  
  
[Daft looked @ Filler Bunny with wide eyes and then turned towards the darkness as another squeak echoed down the hall. She looked back to Filler Bunny again.]  
  
"Did you hear that?"  
  
[Filler Bunny nodded cutely.]  
  
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking???"  
  
[Filler Bunny shook his head]  
  
"MINIMOOSE!"  
  
[Daft leapt up just as MiniMoose came floating down the hall trailed by two others. MiniMoose squeaked a bit and Daft waved her arms to the trio approaching them in the hallway.]  
  
"Hey! It's me Daft! MiniMoose! yay!"  
  
[Daft twitched a bit, restraining a Fan-Girl Plushie-reaction that included grabbing MiniMoose and hugging him to death. She had to keep her calm and make sure they were who they appeared to be. She couldn't make out who it was that was approaching her exactly, but from the look of it, neither had creepy black tendrils and neither wore anything scary-like to be frightened of. MiniMoose floated up to Daft and squeaked in joy. Daft hugged it, flicked on the flashlight and called out to the others.]  
  
"Hey! Guys! It's me Daft! Who are you guys anyway? Dib? Zim? Azka? Crewmembers Bob and Joe?"  
  
"Did you hear that? It's Daft...."  
  
[There was a groan from the dark as one of the figures grabbed the other and pulled it along behind them as they stepped into the small flood of light that the flashlight gave off. Daft grinned with joy as a wave of FanGirl-Plushieness came over her. Biting her lip, she tried to keep from leaping into the air and glomping the now present Jhonen Vasquez. Jhonen looked at her and groaned again, covering his face with his hands. The other figure turned out to be none other than Cameraman Bob! He smiled and stepped forward some more, becoming ecstatic about finding them finally.]  
  
"Daft! It's so good to finally find you! We've been searching EVERYWHERE! That thing...the shadow thing...he's been following us too and scaring the hell outta me and MiniMoose. Lucky for us, we found Jhonen here before he could befall the horrible horribleness that THING has in store for us!"  
  
"Cameraman Bob! Wow! Jhonen too! I'm so glad you guys didn't get caught and killed!"  
  
"Please...shoot me..."  
  
"Don't worry Jhonen! You're safe with us! There's safety in numbers! Now...We still have to find Azka, Dib, Zim, Right-hand Cameraman Ten, Crewman Joe, Left-hand Cameraman Lefty..."  
  
"Daft?"  
  
"Director Dude...That one guy who's always there in the back watching us and eating all our doughnuts and stuffs..."  
  
"Daft...I have bad news..."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Cameraman Lefty is...dead..."  
  
"What? NOOO! NOT LEFTY! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO I LOVE-ED HIM!"  
  
[Daft got all teary eyed at the thought of the cameraman's death. Cameraman Bob lowered his head and MiniMoose squeaked to Filler Bunny.]  
  
"We found him a while back in the lounge. It looks like something with claws or a really sharp thing got to him...The place was wrecked and we heard something coming, so we left before it could turn the corner and enter the room. We were taking no chances..."  
  
"That's it! When I find that creepy thing I'm gonna...I'm gonna....KILL HIM!"  
  
"Shhhhh! Keep your voice down! We can't face it yet. We don't have anything to protect ourselves with."  
  
"Good point Cameraman Bob..."  
  
"Where were you headed?"  
  
"To the backroom...There should be a phone there..."  
  
[Cameraman Bob nodded and moved forward, taking the lead. MiniMoose floated behind him, Filler Bunny hopping up to sit on Daft's head as she followed MiniMoose. Jhonen looked at them and shook his head, following reluctantly. Which was worse? Being killed by the evil thing, or having to be around Daft who could snap into Fan-Girl mode at any moment and cling to him like last time? Shuddering, he pushed the memory from his mind and followed them. Being alive was better than being dead and maybe that 'certain narrator person' would have mercy upon him and let him leave this insane show soon. As they were walking down the hall, now having shut off the light so they wouldn't attract too much attention to themselves, Azka, Dib, and Zim were looking at Leboa half in horror, the other half in curiosity.]  
  
"Is she ok?"  
  
[Azka peered at the small girl in worry, hoping that she didn't hurt her too much. Suddenly, without much of a warning she shot up and stood there with her hands behind her back rocking on her heels. In a cute, loud, annoying voice, she screamed at them happily. It was almost as if she had never gotten hurt at all...]  
  
"HI!"  
  
[Dib and Zim started to step backwards in horror as Azka observed Leboa. After only a few seconds of observing her, she grabbed Zim and Dib so they wouldn't leave and started to question the strange being that stood before her.]  
  
"What... is your name, demon-child?"  
  
"We-ell...I'm called LEBOA!"  
  
"Leboa huh..."  
  
"Yep!"  
  
"NO! RUN AZKA! THAT THING IS PURE EVIL!"  
  
[Dib and Zim squirmed in Azka's grasp as Leboa stared at them, an odd, lopsided smile on her face. Azka rolled her eyes, not realized the truth of the horror standing before her. Leboa then, began her questions. The questions poured out of her mouth like a waterfall. It was horrible.]  
  
"Why are all the lights off? Are you playing hide and go seek in the dark?"  
  
"We..."  
  
"Why'd ya hit me with the bat? that hurt...you know that you wouldn't have hit me if you would have turned on the lights..."  
  
"I know but..."  
  
"where's Daft? I wanted to talk to her but I can't find her...Why isn't she here? Did she leave those two alone?!? How could she do that? Doesn't she know that they'll kill each other?"  
  
"Yes, but they had no choice and..."  
  
"Wait. If you're here...then...DID YOU SEE COREY ON THE WAY IN? HAVE YOU SEEN HIM AT ALL???"  
  
[Leboa started to smile widely at the mention of Corey's name and sighed a small love-sick little sigh as she went off into her own little twisted world to chase visions of him in her head. Azka's brain was starting to hurt as the questions piled up. That girl just kept talking! And if she knew her horror movie scenarios, the killers always picked off the weak and the people who talked to much! She had to shut her up! Besides, these questions were beginning to get annoying! Then sarcastically, Azka said:]  
  
"I think I saw that Corey-guy in your mouth. You should probably close it before he gets away."  
  
[Leboa's eyes went wide and she snapped her mouth shut, clamping her hands over it and trying to see her mouth by crossing her eyes and staring at the tip of her nose. She looked up worried at Azka and began to mumble yet another question through closed lips.]  
  
"Mmm mmmm mm'm mmmmmm mm mmmm?!" You mean He's really in here?  
  
"Wha?"  
  
"M mmmm...mmm mmmm mm's mmmmmm mm mmmm?!" I said...You mean he's really in here?  
  
"Sorry, can't understand you. But don't open your mouth because Corey will get away!"  
  
"MMMM! Mm!" GASP. Ok.  
  
"I'll assume that means...'OK'...Ok guys...we need to."  
  
[Azka turned back around to face Dib and Zim after letting them go. They re- adjusted their clothing and stared at her in horror as Leboa tried desperately to think of a way to get to Corey without opening her mouth and letting him go. Dib and Zim began to argue angrily with Azka over Leboa.]  
  
"We can't take that THING! She'll get us all killed. That is if she doesn't annoy us to death before then!"  
  
"Shut up Dib. She's harmless and we can't just LEAVE her here! That evil THING could get her!"  
  
"So?! Let the demon-worm-baby get eaten! It doesn't bother ZIM!"  
  
"You are so self centered Zim. Quiet. We're taking her along no matter what YOU say!"  
  
"How can you be so blind to her evil? We can't take along an annoying little girl, especially if she's annoying!"  
  
"But we can't leave her here! She probably can't defend for herself!"  
  
"Hah! I say we leave her with Dib and then ditch this place! I am too mighty of an Invader to Die!"  
  
"Quiet Zim. We're not leaving anyone! We're gonna find Daft and the crew and we're gonna find them together and that's FINAL!"  
  
"Even Daft knows she's evil and annoying! That's why her name is L.E.B.O.A! It DOES stand for something ya know..."  
  
"And what's that?"  
  
"I...er...don't quite know...ask Daft."  
  
"See?! I can ask Daft WHEN WE FIND HER!"  
  
"Um...Misses Paranoid Person? I think Corey got away..."  
  
[Azka turned back to Leboa who was standing there close to tears with her hands up by her mouth. Dib and Zim had started arguing with each other over who should be left behind anyway. Azka's temper was dwindling down to a short fuse as the argument carried on and Leboa started to sniffle and get all teary-eyed. Well, one thing was for sure. If you ever wanted to die at the hands of an insane killer in a spooky house or something, these were the people to be with. If that THING wasn't here already, he was surely coming towards them now. Azka's eye twitched at this thought and finally the short fuse was no more. She turned back around and yelled.]  
  
"THAT'S IT! SHUT UP! NOW!"  
  
[They all silenced and looked at her.]  
  
"Listen! You've all done nothing but bicker and fight and now that killer thing could be here and watching us ready to pounce and kill, maim, or eat us! DON'T YOU GUYS EVER WATCH SCARY MOVIES?! The loudest and the weakest ALWAYS seem to go first!..."  
  
"That and the cute guys..."  
  
"NO! YOU SPEAK LIES LITTLE LEBOA-WORM! I'M TOO HANDSOME TO DIE FIRST!"  
  
"Great! You just HAD to say that, didn't you Leboa?!"  
  
"It's only the truth!...All the really hott guys always die first...it's so sad really...LIKE COREY! OH NO! WHAT IF HE'S ALREADY BEEN EATEN!???"  
  
"I'm sure he hasn't been eaten Leboa. I don't think he'd be here anyway...no sane person would."  
  
"MY HEAD'S NOT BIG!"  
  
"I never said it was Dib!"  
  
"Oh sure..."  
  
[Azka was beginning to feel hopeless and really angry. Leboa was annoying as hell and Dib and Zim weren't much help either. Suddenly, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a role of duck tape that she had put there earlier for no apparent reason. She sighed with relief and tackled Dib and Zim who were snapping at each other. Slapping two pieces of duck tape on their mouths, she then turned to Leboa who was talking to herself, worried now that Corey had gotten killed by the evil thing. Azka taped up Leboa's mouth several times and then stood back to admire her work. She put up the duck tape and then looked at them. Now that they were silent, they could listen better and not attract so much attention to their position! She was glad that she had put that role of duck tape in her pocket.]  
  
"Now...since everyone's quiet and ready to listen now...We're going to continue down this hall here because it would be safer. Besides, we shouldn't mess with the Dementia doors, considering they probably hold something even more terrible than anything that evil THING could do to us. That, and when coming here I remember seeing a janitor's closet down the way. Janitor closets are always the root of all evil, so we'll avoid that just to be safe. Now...let's go."  
  
[Azka pulled up Dib, Zim, and Leboa and hauled them along down the hall towards the unknown. If anything tried to get them, she was certain that she could use Leboa as a shield. As they walked away, the metal bat glittered from the shadows, left abandoned in their rush to get out of that hall and somewhere safe. At that time, unknown to them, Daft and her group were headed along towards the backroom. They walked along the twisty-turn-y corners, hesitating every once-in-a-while to check around corners and peer into the darkness to see if the evil THING was around the corner or not. Between checking around corners and being quiet to listen for footsteps, they discussed what had happened and what they were going to do. Daft started, Cameraman Bob agreeing and suggesting things while MiniMoose inserted a squeak or two and Jhonen grumbled to himself.]  
  
"So...where'd you find MiniMoose and Jhonen?"  
  
"Well, MiniMoose and I were chatting after the show when the lights went out. We were then stumbled through the halls and ran into Jhonen. He said that there was an evil presence in the building and that it would be a wise idea to get out of the building and quick. So we agreed and went in search for a way out. MiniMoose then suggested that we find you because you knew all the ways out. I've really only used the back entrance the whole time I've worked here, so that's the only one I knew about, but I lost us in the halls. Jhonen and MiniMoose are kinda new here, so they don't' know every exit in the building. We figured that you'd know every single exit here, considering you're the one who designed the set and stuff..."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Please tell me that you know a way out."  
  
"I do. I just need to find my center point. Besides, if we start in the backroom, we can call for reinforcements and then find a way out. That way we won't have to worry about the evil thing finding us and killing us without the police ever knowing what was happening. So that's why we need to get to the backroom. Besides, we can send help to go find my guest. I hope that THING hasn't killed her."  
  
"Squeak."  
  
"Yes, it WOULD be bad for ratings, but that's not the point. It wouldn't be fun for Azka. She's too nice to die anyway. Now...if it were someone like Corey, then I wouldn't worry. I'd just leave. Besides, Corey could take care of himself. He'd just eat the evil anyway."  
  
"Squeak."  
  
"Dib and Zim? No...they can get eaten really..."  
  
"Squeak!"  
  
"I know, I know. That WAS harsh, but think of it this way...I wouldn't have to put up with Dib's complaints and Zim's 'Irken-ier than Thou' attitude."  
  
"That'd be a relief."  
  
"You said it Cameraman Bob. Sorry Jhonen, but they can get really annoying."  
  
"Squeak."  
  
"Shhhhh...I hear something."  
  
[The group silenced and waited to hear what Daft had thought she heard. They were only one corridor from the backroom. As they stood silently, waiting with held breath, a shuffling noise came to their ears. What ever it was around that corner was blocking their path from here to the backroom. They all stood silently, waiting for it to go away. Would it? Who was it exactly? Will any of the Dementia crew make it out alive?!]  
A/N: Sorry it too such a long time to finish this...but it's half way done! Have no fear boys n' girls! The other half is on it's way. What'll happen to our cast?! Who and what is this stupid evil that's stalking us? AND WILL DEMENTIA EVER BE RESTORED TO IT'S RIGHTFULLY TWISTED ORDER?! Find out next time, Demented ones...o_O... 


	3. PART THREE

|PART THREE|  
  
[Azka's little group made it's way quietly up the hallways, stopping every once in a while to check for evil and to see if everyone was still there or not. She's separated Dib and Zim from each other with her body and Leboa has been pushed up front. Despite the dreary, life-threatening situation they're in, she seems overly happy and is humming and skipping along, duck tape still over her mouth. Dib is in front of Azka and mumbling to himself about something along the lines of disadvantages and not having a big head. Zim, on the other hand, is completely silent as he glares at the back of Azka's head, eye twitching every now and then. Azka is looking down at the ground, not paying any attention to anything what-so-ever. She seems to have lost it. All hope of them finding Daft is swirling around and around and down the drain as they walk along, not knowing what lies ahead for them in this hall of horrors. Azka mumbles under her breath everyone in a while, though nothing she's saying is making anyone fell any better.]  
  
"I hope we find Daft. Even though we're all gonna die anyway."  
  
"Hey! The backroom! They have to have a phone in here!"  
  
[Zim grumbles and growls, wishing he still had his shiny metal bat. If he did, he'd bash them all over their heads and leave. Zim then begins to think to himself in a devious manner. His attention is diverted from glaring at Azka and Dib and to his little thoughts as a devious thought crosses his mind. He could easily use anyone of these guys as bait if they were to run into the evil THING perusing them giving him good time to escape. Yes. That was perfect! Zim began to chuckle to himself. Dib turns around to glare at Zim and raise his eyebrow. What could he be planning now? is the question on Dib's mind. What ever it is, it sure isn't good Dib decides.]  
  
"Ok Zim...what are you doing now. What evil scheme are you cooking up? Huh? I'll have you know that whatever it is, I won't stand for it!"  
  
"Scheme? Me? Never! I was merely....uh...laughing at how ironic this all is."  
  
"Ironic? What's so ironic about this?!"  
  
[Dib stops and turns around to stand in front of Zim and glare with his hands on his hips ready to argue. Azka, not watching where she's going, continues to talk to herself and walk, ending up running right into Dib.]  
  
"I wish I had some crackers to throw at Zim's head. He's lookin' at me funny....I wonder why...OOF!"  
  
[Azka runs straight into Dib, sending them both backwards a few steps as they try to regain their balance. Leboa has turned around and skipped over to them in time to be pushed over by Dib who's flailing his arms about to try and keep himself upright. Zim is watching amused as the three end up toppling over on Leboa. Leboa lays on the ground squirming and twitching under the combined weight of Dib and Azka. Dib rolls off Leboa and stands up to glare at Zim again. Azka is pulling herself and Leboa up as Zim's laughing at them, making Dib angry and the matter worse.]  
  
"That's it Zim! That was not funny!"  
  
"No...of course it wasn't funny. IT WAS HILARIOUS!"  
  
"Shut up Zim!"  
  
"Why should I listen to you, Earth Monkey?"  
  
"Guys..."  
  
"Because, Zim, I have a higher power on the show!"  
  
"Right. If you have such a higher power over, me, Zim, Greatest Invader of all time, then why are you always at a disadvantage?"  
  
"Guys?"  
  
"Hey...that's right...But still! I'm co-host! All you are is a 'crew member'! So there Zim!"  
  
"I am not as low as a 'Crew Member'! I SHOULD BE THE DIRECTOR! I SHOULD BE THE STAR! I AM ZIM!"  
  
"Guys!"  
  
"Yeah...Zim, the low-rate actor!"  
  
"That's it Dib-worm! You'll pay for that insult!"  
  
"GUYS!"  
  
[Azka steps right into the middle of things and glares at them, silencing them both. Leboa is hopping around in the background happily, duck tape still over her mouth. Dib and Zim are silent, yet continue to glare.]  
  
"Shut up and keep moving. I know were just going to die and all, but I really don't want to die with you two arguing over something stupid!"  
  
[With that, Azka grabbed them and shoved them back in line and marched them down the hall. They had been walking for a few minuets when suddenly they ran into none other than...THE BACKROOM! Dib said the first thing that came to his overly large head of largeness.]  
  
"Hey! The backroom! They have to have a phone in here!"  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yeah. I remember that from the one episode where I had to call the ambulance when Gir set Crewman Joe on fire! That was when we were filming the 'Cupcake of Doom' episode..."  
  
"Oh. Good to know that!"  
  
"C'mon! It's our way of contacting the police and ending this nightmare!"  
  
[Azka nodded and they entered the backroom to find one hell of a mess. As they were entering the backroom, Daft's group were coming down the hall, hesitantly. They stopped as they heard some shuffling and peered about the corner where they are right now. Daft pulls her head back and looks at her little group. Filler Bunny's still on her head, MiniMoose is now floating around Jhonen and Cameraman Bob.]  
  
"What do you think it is?"  
  
"Maybe it's the evil THING!"  
  
"Squeak!"  
  
"Good point MiniMoose. We won't know until we go find out."  
  
"But...if we go find out and it turns out to be the evil THING, then we're doomed because none of us have any weapons besides that flashlight."  
  
"Another good point Cameraman Bob. This thing would only be good for one or two hits and we'd have to be in close range where we could easily be captured and killed by it. Judging by what you guys have seen, I don't wanna come anywhere near that thing without a good weapon."  
  
"Squeak!"  
  
"So...what do we do?"  
  
[They all grew silent as they searched for an answer. There was only one way to find out if it was safe and that was by going over to see what it was that was going down the hall. If it turned out to be the evil THING, then they'd have to flee and hope that the THING couldn't follow them. But if it was Azka and the others, then they'd be passing up their chance to see if everyone was ok by not going. It was a tough decision, but finally someone made a move. Jhonen sighed and walked around the corner and towards the backroom. Daft squeaked in fear and ran after him.]  
  
"Wait! Jhonen! What are you doing! You're not armed!"  
  
"I know, but we have to find out. Besides...we can always use Filler Bunny as bait while we escape."  
  
"But...that's so cruel!"  
  
"He'll be ok. He's been through worse."  
  
"Good point...But Jhonen!"  
  
"Shhhhh...."  
  
[Jhonen was at the door when he turned around and hushed Daft. The others had crept up behind Daft in support. Jhonen's hand reached for the doorknob. This was it! They'd finally reveal who and what was beind the door! Whether it was good or bad, they had only to wait and see.]  
  
"My gosh! Look at this place!"  
  
[Dib's eyes were wide at all the ruined technical equipment. That evil THING had come in here and totally destroyed all of the equipment! Wires were everywhere, things were smashed and disconnected. Plugs were undone. The phone wires were cut. EVEN THE ELECTRIC MONKEY WAS BROKEN! Leboa picked up the electric monkey and her eyes started to water. From behind the duck tape came muttered sobbing and questions.]  
  
"Mmmmmmmm! Mmm mm mmm mmmmmm mmmmmm?" Noooooo! Why is the monkey broken?  
  
[Dib had leapt over to where the phone had been connected and moved some electrical things that had toppled over. Upon moving them, he discovered something not too pretty. Dib's eyes went wide as he froze in the process of moving the last of the electrical equipment away. With a shout of disgust, he leapt backwards, taking the electrical box with him as he scrambled away from his discovery. Azka's eyes went wide and her face became all twisted up in disgust. Zim's eye twitched as he cringed at the sight. Leboa, on the other hand was too busy crying over her broken monkey. Dib's action sent a few pieces of the equipment tumbling back in place because it was still attached to the piece he held in his hand. There, lying under the equipment was the chewed up remains of one of the crewmembers. Who that was just yet was somewhat hard to find out, for the face had been pretty much eaten off. Huge chunks of flesh were gone and gore was spread everywhere. Blood had dried on the floor and the equipment that had fallen on him. Dib let the piece in his hands drop to the ground as he spotted the drying blood. Shuddering, he turned away from the scene. Azka's stomach flipped a bit and she decided to go stand over by Leboa.]  
  
"Man...Who IS that?"  
  
"How should I know, Dib-worm? I never lowered myself to the level of getting to know the lowly crew members which I am not one of..."  
  
"Oh shut it Zim...I saw you socializing with them several times. Does it have an ID on it?"  
  
"I'm not going to look. You do it."  
  
"I'm not touching that thing!"  
  
"Neither am I!"  
  
"Mmm'm mmmm?" Who's That?  
  
[Leboa stopped her crying for a moment to look at the corpse. She blinked and then returned to crying loudly over the broken monkey. Azka was just too worn out and frustrated to do anything but stare at Leboa and hope that they'd eventually make it out of here alive. Dib shakes his head and turns back to work on the electrical equipment.]  
  
"Well, it doesn't matter anyway. He's dead. Now...If I could just re- connect these wires, we can call out again!"  
  
"So do it, Dib-worm, and hurry!"  
  
"Shut it Zim. I don't need you harping at me while I work!"  
  
[Dib then sat himself down on the floor and began to dig through the electrical equipment, throwing out old wires and broken wires and examining others. He was frantically tossing handfuls of wires out, each of them seeming to have a built in target range so that they never hit anything but Zim. Zim was standing with his back turned from the corpse and Zim with his arms crossed, muttering and plotting. The first wire hit him and he jumped, looking around quickly. Two more wires hit him and he turned about to yell at Dib when a few more wires bounced off his head. Becoming angry, he opened his mouth to yell at him, and got a mouthful of wires instead. Spitting them out, a few more bounced off his head and Zim began batting them away angrily as more and more bounced off his head. Dib mumbled to himself about the wires as Zim, now twitchy-eyed once again, began to approach him from behind, arms stretched out as if to choke him, a vein in his head sticking out and pounding as more wires bounced off his head.  
  
Azka blinked and looked up from watching the floor blankly, catching a glimpse of what Zim was trying to do, to growl at Zim. Just what she needed. If that evil THING didn't get them and tear them to pieces like that corpse, then they'd wind up killing each other! Azka narrowed her eyes until they were tiny slits of anger, picked up the nearest piece of electrical equipment and tossed it harshly at Zim's head. The heavy silver box flew through the air far enough to hit Zim in the head and knock him over. Zim yelled out in pain and fell over, box falling on his chest and pinning him to the ground where he held his head in pain and squirmed under it's weight. Dib paid no mind to this little yell and went on plucking wires and tossing them over his shoulder so that they fell on Zim's face once more. Azka leaned back against the wall and stared at the ground once more. Leboa had shut up and was now just whimpering and rocking the broken monkey in her arms, tears in her eyes again. Suddenly, there's a squeaking sound as the doorknob starts to turn. Azka, who normally would have heard if someone was coming up the hallway, turned her eyes towards the turning doorknob. She then walked as calmly as she could over to stand behind Zim and Dib. It that evil THING was out there and coming in, she'd rather have it eat Leboa before it got to her.  
  
Azka hissed to the others who had silenced and froze in their places, attention being directed to the door once again.]  
  
"Guys...quiet and stay in your places...Nobody move until we know who it is. If it's the evil...um...uh...jump out the window..."  
  
[The doorknob turned ever so slowly like it always does to create tension in the movies. Leboa started shaking as her eyes started to bulge out of her head. The door swung aside slowly to reveal a dark shape, tall and thin. Leboa, unable to stand the pressure anymore, drops the mechanical monkey she cared so much about earlier and launches herself at the figure letting out an ear-shattering screech, duck tape having magically disappeared, that is almost inhuman in a way. The three in the room clamp their hands over their ears at the noise. Leboa tackles the figure and begins to poke it again and again in it's head. The figure cries out and they realize it's Jhonen Vasquez! And behind him are none other than Daft, MiniMoose, Filler Bunny, and Cameraman Bob! Azka, Dib, and Zim let out a sigh of relief. Dib throws his arms up in the air and cries 'FINALLY!' as Jhonen pushes Leboa off of him. Daft and Cameraman Bob rush to help Jhonen up. Leboa stares at them from her spot on the ground where she was recently pushed over. Jhonen stands up, grumbling at his luck, being tackled and poked to death by a demonic child and then getting stuck with most likely another Fan-Girl. Daft grins at everyone and bounces about the room happily to hug everyone. Azka waves shyly at Jhonen.]  
  
"Azka! Dib! Zim! I'm soooo glad to see that you guys are ok! We were all so worried that the evil THING got to you guys before we could. Man, this has been the craziest thing to happen in all of Dementia's past history!"  
  
"Daft! It's so good to see that you're alive! We've been searching for you hoping that you guys would know the way out and that we could go home and these guys have been nothing but evil to each other and I've had to stop Zim from killing Dib like a bazillion times already in fact I just got to throw something heavy at his head a while back so he couldn't choke Dib and...and...and..."  
  
[Azka spoke in a flow of words, not pausing until she ran out of things she was going to say. Dib cut in.]  
  
"Yeah! Zim's been trying to kill me Daft. That and you're not giving me a very fair fight!"  
  
"But...I'm not controlling this..."  
  
"I've only been trying to put the poor earth-scum out of his large-headed misery..."  
  
"I DON'T HAVE A BIG HEAD! See?"  
  
[Daft nodded, not really caring, and then turned to stare wide-eyed at the corpse on the floor. She gasped and knelt down beside the corpse to read the small blood-smeared ID tag hanging off it's tattered remains. She put her hand up to her mouth and dropped the ID standing up, tears in her eyes. She turned back to the rest and hung her head as she announced the sad news.]  
  
"Guys...It's...it's...Back-up Cameraman Shmoof."  
  
[Cameraman Bob lowered his head for his fallen comrade as Daft sniffled and grew angry at the evil THING that had wreaked so much havoc upon them already. Azka lowered her head in respected, elbowing Dib and Zim to do the same. Dib lowered his head but Zim refused to, so she grabbed it and pushed it down, holding it down until Daft raised her head, a look of determination in her eyes. Zim pulls away from Azka, holding his head which is bruised and tender and Azka snickers a bit, happy that she has caused pain to Zim without having him attack her back. She then remembers that Jhonen is in the room and remembers that she has to act 'normal' so he doesn't think that she's obsessed with him or his creations. That would be bad. And he'd be scared. So she straightened up and listened as Daft began to create a plan. They listened intently to what she was saying.]  
  
"Ok, I don't know if you guys know, but this is two cameramen already dead. Cameraman Lefty and Cameraman Shmoof. This leaves Cameraman Ten and Cameraman Bob, who as you know, is with us now. Before we met up..."  
  
"Daft...This crazy thing is going to eat us! I bet I'm going to be first, right? Right?"  
  
"Quiet Dib...As I was saying...we'd have been too weak and unprepared to fight it, but..."  
  
"We're still too weak and unprepared to fight it! You're crazy to think we can do it now!"  
  
"Shut it Dib! Or we'll use YOU as bait....anyway, now that we have a pretty good-sized team, I think we can take it on. We have nine people and this room has a whole bunch of things which could be used as weapons, so we'd be armed when we went up against it."  
  
"That's crazy! We can't even fight! None of us here are trained to take on anything like this. THIS WASN'T EVEN IN THE CONTRACT!"  
  
"Dib...what have I said?"  
  
"I can't keep silent when you're over here telling us that we can take this thing on when we really can't and..."  
  
[Azka glared at Dib and thawpped him over the head to make him shut up. She nodded to Daft and Daft nodded back to her and continued.]  
  
"Like I was saying...We CAN take this thing on. There's strength in numbers. But! I wasn't planning on just heading out and taking it on directly. I was planning on setting a trap to lure it over to us so we could ambush it! Then it would be caught off-guard and we'd have another advantage!"  
  
[Azka waved her arm in the air, about ready to explode with a question, trying to be polite and wait her turn and NOT butt in, but she just couldn't help it and burst out with her question.]  
  
"Daft! Daft! We were going to go through the window if it was the evil THING, but we didn't because we wanted to see who it was and it was you and now I was just wondering...What would have happened if we WOULD have went out the window?"  
  
"Well...what would have happened was..."  
  
"That's not important Daft! Stick to what we're going to do! We need to be prepared or we'll all be doomed!"  
  
"Squeak!"  
  
"Yes. but let me answer this question and..."  
  
"WE'RE ALL SO VERY DOOMED!"  
  
"But...guys...it's just a..."  
  
[Dib broke down in a fit of yelling 'We're doomed! Doooomed! Doooomed!' over and over again as Zim glared at them all. Cameraman Bob was holding Jhonen here because he was attempting to leave the room and the madness. Daft, sidetracked now, went on with her plan.]  
  
"Filler Bunny and I saw it over by the janitor's closet and..."  
  
"See?! I told you that closet was evil! I TOLD YOU!!!"  
  
[Azka paused, looking about the little circle of people. Zim stared at her and Filler Bunny blinked cutely and tipped his head sideways. Azka looked away embarrassed and inched away from the circle. Daft carried on with her plan and how they'd go and set up the trap, using Filler Bunny as bait and then ambush the evil THING when it tried to eat Filler Bunny. Azka, away from the group now, ignored the strange looks Zim was giving her and started to draw pictures on the floor with her finger, humming to herself. Leboa was back playing with the beaten up monkey and the others listened, Dib interrupting every now and then. Jhonen, once Cameraman Bob lets go of him to listen to Daft's plan, starts to slide out the door again silently. Azka looked up and shrugged. The pictures were keeping her entertained and that's all that mattered at that moment.]  
  
"Ok, what I've noticed is that this THING likes Cameramen...so maybe we should use you, Cameraman Bob, to lure him in. Don't worry because we'll be right there to kick his butt before he can eat you. Besides, you'll be armed anyway...that reminds me. Everyone! Grab a weapon! It's time to take action!"  
  
[Daft leaps up and grabs a long, metal pipe thing. The others follow her lead and find something they can swing or throw. Azka, looking up from the floor, stands up to follow what everyone else is doing, not wanting to make a fool of herself again. Daft suddenly remembers that there's one question that she forgot to answer and turns back to Azka.]  
  
"Oh yeah, about the window thing..."  
  
[Azka perks up and rushes over to Daft, pushing Dib and Zim out of her way making them grumble at her as she stands there, eyes wide and excited to finally get to hear what would have happened to them. Daft begins to explain when Dib comes over to them.]  
  
"Well, if you would have gone through that window you would have..."  
  
"Enough about the window already! We need to find a way to get out of here! I REALLY don't want to end up Evil's Dinner!"  
  
[Dib cut in, waving his arms in the air and rolling his eyes. Daft, ticked off at the loss of her friends and show, glares at Dib.]  
  
"Well, instead of having me tell you what would have happened...let's have an example of what would happen to you physically if you would have gone through the window..."  
  
[Daft suddenly picks up Dib and tosses HIM out the window instead. The glass of the window breaks as Dib crashes through it, screaming at the top of his lungs. Pieces of glass fly all over and Cameraman Bob and Zim shield themselves from the flying glass. Daft seems satisfied, and Cameraman Bob begins freaking out because that'll alert the killer to their position. Daft thinks it's ok because she'll lure the evil to them and she also got to hurt Dib for no apparent reason! Which shut him up for a bit. Though that never really explains what would have happened to them if they would have gone through the window . But that didn't matter now. Azka returns the smirk and raises her thumbs up.]  
  
"I approve!"  
  
[Azka and Daft's attention is drawn to Cameraman Bob who is flipping out and bug-eyed over the whole thing. Azka raises her eyebrow and Daft blinks at him, not seeing how it could be such a bad thing. Suddenly, they heard a shuffling sound coming down the hallway slowly at first, but gaining speed as it headed towards Dib who was laying on the ground twitching and grumbling.]  
  
"Quickly! Grab a weapon and let's go! It's time to take this thing down!"  
  
[Daft commanded, raising her metal pipe. Azka began to panic and started to run around in circles screaming. She was too flustered to grab anything to even think straight. Something in her head screamed 'Save Dib! Save Dib! Be the hero! Save Dib!'. Azka knew she couldn't even if she tried and wasn't about to go out there, fling herself in front of Dib and try to save him in a big, dramatic way now. Paranoia was welling up inside her as the evil came closer and closer. Azka could barely stand still without screaming, so instead, kept on running in circles, despite Daft's command to grab a weapon. Zim grabbed something as Cameraman Bob pulled out a few round metal things to chuck at the evil thing. Dropping to the ground in a crouch, Daft moved to the window, placing her back up against the wall below the window, ready to leap up and out the window towards the evil. Dib shook his head and realized what was coming up the hallway. He let out a yell as the evil THING emerged from the shadows to tower above him.  
  
The evil was tall and cloaked in a long black robe, black tendrils rolling out across the floor menacingly. His face was hidden, yet he was scary anyway. Blood was splattered across bits of his robe, proving that he had been the one to kill and eat the two, possibly three, Cameramen. Dib scrambled away from the robed figure as fast as he could, pushing the glass away from him, trying desperately to stand up and run. Little cuts appeared on Dib's hands as he pushed away the glass in attempts to scramble away from the evil that had started to come closer, leaning down, stretching out it's arms to grab him up. He heard an evil cackle as he continued to yell for help. Where was Daft and the others? Didn't they care about him? No. Of course not. This was going to be his last show ever. Stupid disadvantages! Why him though?! Dib picked up a piece of glass and threw it at the robed figure. The evil THING just batted it away and laughed at Dib's pitiful attempts to hurt it.]  
  
"HELP! HELP DAFT! THIS THING'S GONNA EAT ME! HEEEEEEEEEEELP!"  
  
[Just then as the evil THING swooped down low to slash at Dib, something screeched from the room and a figure leapt from the window towards the evil. There was a flash of light as the metal rod came down on the evil THING's back with a soft thud of metal meeting fleshy material. The evil THING was distracted and turned on Daft, ignoring Dib enough for him to stand up. The evil THING grabbed Daft's metal pole as she tried to swing it at him once again. Struggling against his strength, she fought to pull the rod from his hands and use it against him once more. The evil THING cackled again as he pulled the rod from her hands and threw it to the side, leaving her somewhat defenseless. Daft stepped back as the evil thing lunged towards her. Darkness filled Daft's eyes as it came straight at her. She raised her arms up to shield herself from it, as if that would stop it. Just as she thought it was all over, she heard a thunk as Zim flew through the window to knock the evil THING over. Daft blinked. Had Zim done that on purpose? Had he shown some human emotion and leapt through the window willfully? Zim rolled off of the evil THING, stood and ran back to where Dib was standing, grumbling and cursing something. Daft rethought that. No. He was probably thrown through the window as a weapon. But, no one knew but him and the person who could have thrown him. That, and they'd just have to find out later.  
  
Daft too this opportunity to grab her metal rod once again and strike the evil with it. Dib and Zim had picked up pieces of glass and were using them as knives to chuck at the evil THING. It squirmed as the shards stuck in the folds of it's robe. Screeching, it shot up off the ground, over powering Daft once more. Azka's screams were heard from within as MiniMoose and Filler Bunny flew out the window to hit the evil THING. He turned and hissed, leaping through the window at Azka to tackle her. In the room, the evil THING then laughed evilly as Azka screamed below it's weight. Cameraman Bob rushed over with a large mechanical piece and bashed the evil THING over the head with it, distracting it from Azka. The evil THING rolled off and it's attention turned to Cameraman Bob. An evil hiss was heard as it leapt up, flying across Azka to tackle Cameraman Bob. Azka yelled, getting enough courage to stand up and whap the thing over the head with a metal pipe of her own. It hissed and looked at her. Her eyes went wide and she dropped the pipe, screamed, and fled the scene through the window just as Daft leapt through the window, hit the ground, and attacked the THING with the metal pipe once more. It growled and threw her off. Daft flew backwards and fell to the ground, rolling away, the metal pipe clanging against the wall to fall beside her again. She looked up in horror to see the evil THING holding Cameraman Bob by the throat, getting ready to eat him right before her eyes. Zim and Dib peered through the window, looked at each other, and hesitated, not sure if they really wanted to try to kill that thing after what it did to Daft.]  
  
"NOOOOOO! CAMERAMAN BOB!"  
  
[Evil laugher came her ears as the thing turned and faced her, Cameraman Bob still being held by the throat as it spoke to her. The words came to her ears, strange, yet familiar. She listened, brain picking out what it was saying.]  
  
"j00 [4|\|07 |)3f347 |\/|3 |)4f7! 1 VV1LL 3|\|j0y 3471|\|g |30|3!"  
  
[With that, the evil THING laughed maniacally as Daft cried out. Suddenly, Leboa perked up, sniffing the air and looking about wildly. She leapt up, screamed and launched herself at the evil THING happily, hanging onto him. The evil THING shrieked and beat at her with one hand as it ran around and around the room trying to get her off. Leboa squealed in delight and clung to his robes. The evil THING cursed Leboa in the strange tongue. He looked towards Daft and shook his fist.]  
  
"j00 |-|4\/3 |\|07 VV0|\| y37, |)4f7!"  
  
[With that, the lights flickered off for a brief moment and when they turned back on, the room was empty with the exception of Daft and Leboa. Dib and Zim peered into the window to watch them as Azka ran in circles screaming. Leboa sat on the floor blinking, wondering where he had gone. Daft cried out angrily. The evil THING had taken Cameraman Bob with it and they had lost the last known Cameraman. To top things off, Jhonen was no where to be found either. Daft pounded her fists on the ground cursing as Dib and Zim watched, too shocked to do anything. Azka calmed down now that the evil was gone and came to stand beside them and peer in at Daft.]  
  
"NO! YOU HAVEN'T WON! YOU'LL NEVER WIN! I WON'T LET YOU! YOU MAY HAVE TAKEN MY ONLY REMAINING CAMERAMAN, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT YOU'VE WON! I'LL HUNT YOU DOWN! YOU WILL NOT GET AWAY WITH THIS!"  
  
[Azka looked at Dib and Zim and then back to Daft silently. Leboa began crying and Daft slowly rose up and turned towards the three at the window.]  
  
"Guys...We're up against something even more terrifying than what we were expecting. I know who it is now and I know how to stop him. I will not let him win. But you guys, I need your help with this. We have to be strong and stop fighting with each other if we're going to do this. Ok? We need to work together to bring this guy to his knees before it's too late. We've lost all our cameramen now, and Jhonen is missing as well. We can't let this guy go on to destroy all that I've worked for. We can't let him win! We have to fight him! We have to beat him! If we work together, we'll be able to do this. If we fall apart, we're doomed. Are you guys with me or not? Will you help me smash this guy? Or would you rather bicker and fight and find a way out to leave him here to terrorize and destroy all that we have here?"  
  
[Dib and Zim looked towards the ground as Azka nodded.]  
  
"I'm with you. I'd hate to see this show be canceled anyway. Zim's show was canceled due to the evil ruling Nick and I don't want to see this one sharing the same fate because of some evil THING destroying it. Besides, I wouldn't be much of a person if I didn't at least attempt to help!"  
  
"I agree...I'm sorry I was complaining, but I always thought that you were giving me a disadvantage because you didn't like me or something. But when you came out there to stop him, even if it was only because it was an opportunity to kill the evil once and for all, I realized that you cared about me more than I thought you did. You do care about me, Daft?"  
  
"No Dib...I hate you...You complain too much and your head's HUGE!"  
  
[Dib's eyes lowered and he looked at the ground. Zim laughed and Daft shook her head.]  
  
"I kid Dib...Where would the show be without your little complaints? Not that they don't get very annoying and not that I don't want to kill you half the time, but still. You're pretty cool. As for you Zim..."  
  
[Zim stopped laughing and looked up at Daft, not wanting to hear about what she thought of him, already half knowing what was going to come out his her mouth.]  
  
"...You need to stop always trying to kill Dib. It's more than what's expected of him to deal with you ALWAYS out to get him. Save it for when he really does try to get YOU. And Azka, thanks for being such a great guest. This is a little more than what guests usually have to go through, but I think you handled it well. Considering that you could have broken down, curled up in a corner, and cried, forcing us to carry you or leave you, you did good."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"Ok guys. Let's keep this happy feeling up and try to work together. I have a plan. One that is sure to work..."  
  
[They nodded and Daft motioned for them to lean in and hear her plan. And so, with the death of Cameraman Bob, a new bond of friendship was born between Daft, Azka, Dib, and Zim. The evil THING was out there lurking the halls with fresh blood on its robes, ready to defy Daft and take her down once and for all, but that didn't scare them. They knew what they had to do, and together, they would bring the evil to its knees. The evil THING didn't stand a chance now that they had been united physically and united in their goals and feelings. Besides, Daft had a secret weapon now....] 


	4. PART FOUR

|PART FOUR|  
  
[Daft's small group watched Daft solemnly as she spoke, a serious tone in her voice now. MiniMoose and Filler Bunny had magically appeared beside them once again. Daft tried to keep a straight face, though she wanted to scream and go rip the evil THING to pieces right then and there. Azka, Zim, and Dib seem shocked. Azka mumbles to herself every now and again, but keeps her attention directed to what Daft is saying. Leboa, strangely enough, is just standing there staring down the hall with a broken look on her face, sniffling, but not crying loudly. Daft continues on, revealing the origin of who and what the evil THING is exactly.]  
  
"It all started a long, long time ago...back before Dementia was created. It was a time of boredom. A time of hanging around on the internet chatting with friends and wishing we all had something better to do. It was a time of insanity, as well as a time of insomnia and sugar highs. It was a time of PURE EVIL! But we were unaware of that evil presence, which was actually only a nescience then. You see, as you probably know, Dementia was spawned off of a crazy idea after watching a marathon of creepy old shows like 'Twilight Zone'* and 'Night Gallery'* and fed by insomnia and sugar. But there was another, unknown component in the making of Dementia. Well...it's still kinda unknown because we haven't figured out just what it was just yet and..."  
  
"Daft...you were supposed to be telling us the origin of this 'evil THING' that's stalking us..."  
  
"I'M GETTING THERE!"  
  
[Zim rolled his eyes and Dib shook his head as Daft continued.]  
  
"Now, as I was saying before being rudely interrupted by Dib...The old woman just so happened to be walking along one day next to the pig-shaped house which isn't even supposed to have anything to do with this story, and she just exploded! BOOM! Just like that...Leaving only her socks! But the mooing supersonic bee ATE THOSE SOCKS! Which wasn't a very nice thing to do...But you see, the explosion left everyone in a 15 mile radius stupider...which was really hard to do because they're all idiots anyway...but like I said, the cow jumped over the moon and the old lady exploded, leaving her socks behind which that evil bee ate! I mean...he just ate them! Gobbled them up without even trying to comprehend the meaning of his existence and the consequences of his sock-eating which would later lead him to be squashed with pancakes! But I mean, really...Who knew that buffalo didn't have wings?"  
  
"....Is there a point to this story?"  
  
"Yes. The point is that what ever you do...NEVER write a story with Corey....EVER!"  
  
"COREY? WHERE?!"  
  
[Leboa leapt out of her depressed mode, leaping up on Daft and tackling her, looking about happily screaming over and over again 'Where's Corey?' Daft frowned and pushed her off and stood up again.]  
  
"Corey's not here Leboa...well, not here with us...."  
  
"Awwww...."  
  
[Leboa slumped her shoulders and returned to her position in the hall, staring down there longingly and sniffling like a sad little puppy wishing her master would come back and play with her. Daft dusted herself off and continued.]  
  
"He IS in the building though. The evil THING....that's Corey. I don't know why I didn't realize it before! The door, the fire in the hall, the cameramen....Not until Leboa tackled him and he spoke to me did I finally realize who it was. You see...a long, long time ago, back when Dementia was still young, Corey and I were working together on a separate story of insanity. When we had completed that, I asked him if he wanted to be on my Halloween Special. You see, at the time, I didn't know what a bad choice that was. Corey has a taste for the cameramen. I guess they taste better than the rest of the crew or something. I dunno...I never ate anyone before...Anyway. On the special, he pretty much was always trying to chomp on the cameramen when we were trying to film it. As you know, he actually managed to set one on fire and eat him...but we got him before he could eat anyone else. Corey was a danger to my crew, so we locked him in a room marked foolishly 'Danger! Do NOT Enter!' which everyone knows is an invitation to OPEN the door..."  
  
[Azka looked down sheepishly. It was one thing that she freaked out about the evil THING and ended up not helping much, but it was another to remember she was the one who opened the door in the first place. Daft caught Azka's look and smiled a bit.]  
  
"Don't worry Azka. It's not your fault. That sign is just like telling a kid NOT to open his presents or peek at them BEFORE the designated time. Don't worry about it. It's really my fault for not locking the door. Wait a minuet...he could have just gotten out by himself...so it just was a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. So don't worry..."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"No problem. Anyway. The only known effective weakness that Corey has is Leboa. Yes. She's annoying and evil and stuff, but that's why she's so effective. That, and she never dies..."  
  
"Jeez, if Leboa was my only weakness, I would want to go on a killing rampage too..."  
  
"Yeah..."  
  
[Dib and Zim agreed with Azka's little statement. Daft nodded knowingly and continued.]  
  
"This is why we have to use Leboa against Corey. But we also have to save her for a last resort or Corey will be strong enough to flee. He has amazing shadowy powers because of that cloak he's wearing. It fuels him and makes him even more...evil...Darn...I knew I shouldn't have locked him in the 'Everything Evil' section of the closet! Who knows what other evil item he could have with him to aid him! I guess our only hope is to go after him and fight him ourselves to weaken him enough so Leboa can get a good hold on him. Then we can dispose of that evil cape and make him return back to his normal evil cannibalistic self!"  
  
"Yeah. Ok. I'm with you Daft. After all, all I did this whole time was complain and whine about all these disadvantages...and well...I'm sorry."  
  
"It's fine Dib. I forgive you."  
  
"Just how do you plan to go after this...'Corey'....with our measly little weapons?"  
  
"Um...well Zim...actually, I was thinking that we'd go in there with a bunch of sticks or poles or brooms or something really heavy to throw on him and then we'd kinda...whap him a lot with things until he weakened and then we'd set Leboa on him!"  
  
"That'll never work! You need a better strategy! I'll provide us with one myself, after all, I WAS trained to be a top Invader...Military Strategizing is nothing! Besides...I bet I could turn your measly little sticks and stones into GIANT LASERS OF DOOM! and...uh...radioactive...rocks...yeah...."  
  
[Zim nodded as he spoke, confident in his power to make things stronger. Leboa sniffled louder and muttered something. Azka suddenly remembered something that she was going to ask Daft before the whole Corey-Battle.]  
  
"Oh, and Daft? Dib told me that Leboa stands for something... But he won't tell me WHAT..."  
  
"Oh...that? Lemme see here...L-E-B-O-A. Leboa. Stands for Little Evil Boomerang Of Annoyance. Quite fitting, is it not?"  
  
"Yes. Yes it is..."  
  
[Daft nods in agreement and Zim mutters under his breath.]  
  
"...that's an understatement..."  
  
[Daft then moves onto finishing her plan.]  
  
"Like I said. We'll weaken him first...then stick Leboa on him. Everyone, grab something to do some damage with!"  
  
[Daft grabs some sticks and a broom and a few heavy pieces of equipment, placing them in front of the group. Zim grabs a piece of equipment and requests some tools. He's planning on making it into a giant laser of doom! Dib grabs a pole, testing it out by swishing it through the air. Azka reaches for a weapon, but freezes as she spots the brooms. Her eye twitches a bit as she stares at the broom. Automatically, she flips out over the sight of the brooms. Daft steps back as Azka points at one and raves incoherently at it.]  
  
"Evil!...brooms...witches...moof...blah...night and shadows...magical broom...sticks...moose...EVIL EVIL EVIL!"  
  
[Grabbing the broom, she snaps it clean in two and suddenly stops her babbling and is completely calm again...but as for sane...well...that was another story. Holding up the two broom sticks, she smiles at them, gracing them with her friendship and beginning to speak to each of them like separate people. Daft blinks and Dib leans over to Zim to whisper in his ear. Zim nods and looks at her wide eyed. MiniMoose floats around behind us as Filler Bunny attempts to pick up a pole for himself.]  
  
"Squeak!"  
  
"You can say that again MiniMoose..."  
  
"What?!"  
  
[Azka blinks at the rest of them, frowning and holding the two broken broom stick pieces to closer to her.]  
  
"I'm not crazy!...well...not officially crazy but still...STOP STARING AT US! KRIS AND JOE TAKE OFFENSE TO STARING! There...there. Don't worry...they won't stare at you anymore."  
  
"Right...Ok...whatever.."  
  
[Daft shakes her head and moves on, picking out a metal rod herself. Zim, working on his electrical piece, mutters as Dib watches him with doubt. Zim begins to tell them of his AMAZING STRATEGY for winning. The others listen, even though Daft still believes her 'fool proof' plan works better.]  
  
"First...we'll put Leboa in the back of the line and....You," [Zim pointed at Dib.] "In the front."  
  
"Hey...I don't wanna go in front!"  
  
"Ok. Ok. Daft will go up front. She's actually WANTS to fight this thing anyway. Now...you, Azka and I will be in the middle. I think I should be closer to the front since I will have the amazing equipment to crush the evil with..."  
  
"If you have such amazing equipment Zim, then why aren't you going first?"  
  
"Shut it Dib-worm! I do not have to explain myself to you!"  
  
"Guys...chill. I wouldn't let Zim go in front either. I want to be there first just in case..."  
  
"See?"  
  
"Quiet Zim.."  
  
"Ok. Ok. Anyway. Corey has that evil cloak, right? Right. Well, if we're able to hold him down long enough to pull it off him, the rest of the battle won't be as tough! And Leboa will be able to come in sooner and we'll be able to return to our lives sooner as well. So here's the deal. We go to the Dementia Hall where it's filmed...the one with all the doors...and we call his bluff out there. He appears and then we attack. I'll attack first since I'll actually have a laser that will have a chance at beating him..."  
  
"You don't have a laser yet Zim..."  
  
"Shut up Dib. I WILL have a laser...just you wait and see. Now...as I was saying. We'll first start off attacking in random order. When I give the signal, we'll all attack at once and not let up until I give the other signal. Then we fall back and start the random attacks over again until the first signal is given and we continue on like that until he's weak and we can take him down and get rid of that cloak..."  
  
"Zim...don't you think Corey would figure out sooner or later that we were attacking at a signal and then he'd figure out the signal and know when we were going to attack and dodge it?"  
  
"No! Of course he won't! Corey couldn't possibly be as amazing as I, Zim! Besides...Corey hasn't had all my Irken Military Training! So therefore, I am the superior being and I win. Now shut up and stop interrupting me Dib- worm..."  
  
"Hey...I was just thinking...Maybe, if we had gone through that window, we would have tumbled down a hidden trap door and into a dark labyrinth where we would wander around for days and days upon end until we finally run into a door marked 'Do Not Open: Mary-Sue Storage.' or 'Warning! Danger! Lack of creativity inside!' or maybe even 'Danger! Annoying Mary-Sues behind this door, DO NOT OPEN unless you'd like to die a horrible Mary-Sue related death!' Yep. That's probably where Jhonen keeps them when he's sick of bothering with them. That, or that's where all the other authors keep them when they get sick of them...hey Daft? Do you have a Mary-Sue storage- prison-closet-thing somewhere? I mean...how much do you have to pay to store your Mary-Sue character down there so it'll never get out? It's got to be a lot because there's a lot of Mary-Sues out there and they're so very dangerous...especially in a large group and..."  
  
"Azka! QUIET!"  
  
[Zim yelled, frowning at Azka. She frowned back and threatened him with Joe. Zim glared at her and continued.]  
  
"Anyway...IF he does figure out what signals we're using...which I'm sure he won't...Then just attack at random and stuff and try to kill him as quickly as possible! Make sure to hit him a lot too...That hurts and is very effective."  
  
"Zim?"  
  
"Yes Daft?"  
  
"That's basically my plan, only with a lot of little details."  
  
"No. No it isn't...It's an ENTIRELY DIFFERENT ONE! Completely mine too...yep. All my idea. Had nothing to do with you. Came from my mind, my mouth and..."  
  
"Or maybe, if we had gone through that window we would have broken some sort of barrier and get tossed in some alternate dimension where Zim and Dib would wear little pink dresses and bows and sparkles and wonder just how they look and how their hair looks every five seconds that they're away from a mirror. Maybe there we'd walk on our hands and talk backwards and time would literally fly and.."  
  
"Ok, Ok! Don't you think we should be going?"  
  
"I'm not done perfecting my weapon, Dib-worm!"  
  
"Weapon? That looks like a pile of mechanical junk!"  
  
"Shut it! Or suffer the horrible consequences!"  
  
"What? You're going to 'zap' me with it?"  
  
"No...more like fry you to a crisp...but zapping would work to get you to hold still..."  
  
[Zim glared at Dib as he took a step away from him. Daft, who had been busy tying Filler Bunny onto the end of her stick as a 'Good Luck Charm', looked over at them and frowned.]  
  
"I thought we were going to get along today guys..."  
  
"Fine. I'm sorry. It's just that Zim's not being very nice and this is so frustrating and...Oh...I'm doing it again aren't it?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Sorry. I'll try to be better Daft. I'm just so used to..."  
  
"Enough talking please Dib...you're going to talk yourself into a corner one of these days."  
  
"Sorry...I just..."  
  
"Shhhhh..."  
  
"Ok, I was just.."  
  
"Quiet..."  
  
"Ok...I..."  
  
"You're not being quiet..."  
  
[Dib lowers his head and looks at his shoes, resisting the urge to talk again. Daft smiles and goes back to swinging her pole about, Filler Bunny still tied to the end of it. Azka is getting to know her broomsticks as MiniMoose hovers around, trying not to get hit by Daft's pole. Leboa suddenly perks up and runs over to Daft excitedly. What they're about to go do has just sunk into her brain.]  
  
"Daft! We're going to go see Corey aren't we!?"  
  
"Well...we'll see him yes...but we're going to go defeat him..."  
  
"But...I get to see him, right?"  
  
"Yes. But only if you co-operate with my plans. We are going to give you the signal to latch onto Corey and not let go. Not even if he tells you to. Ok? But you can't go to him until I say. Got it? Don't run out after him until I tell you to. If you do, we'll loose and then I'll have to forbid you from ever talking to him again."  
  
[Leboa's eyes went wide at what Daft said. Daft threw in the end piece to get her to obey and it was apparently working on her little mind. Leboa nodded vigorously as Daft asked if she understood. Afterwards, Daft turned to the others, grasped the pole in one hand and put on a serious face to look at Azka, Dib, and Zim carefully. Her tone was serious.]  
  
"Ok guys. I guess this is the part where I give my little pep talk. So here we go....  
  
I'm not going to lie to you guys. This fight will be tough. People will get hurt. People will die. People might just get infected by the 'Superengineeredbycoreyl337deathvirus' and explode. It isn't going to be a pretty fight, nor will it be short. This fight will be long, hard, and most likely bloody. We'll fight hard and we won't give up until Corey is beaten and ready to say he's sorry! He'll be tricky, yes, and his l337 skills will be amazing. Besides, he's powered by that evil cloak now too, which will make him even stronger and eviler and....l337-er. If we stick to the plan and try our best and never give up, we'll eventually win. Or maybe we won't...but I'm pretty sure we will. As I like to say, 'Our toughest battles are fought even before we step onto the battlefield.' Fear is going to be a key factor in his attacks, and if you stop to fear him, you will perish. Don't let fear destroy you. Stay strong and we will succeed. This kind of reminds me of that one time when..."  
  
"Can we just go get this over with Daft? Every time someone stops to give a pep talk, someone ends up dieing. If we're going to die, we'll die...you don't need to point it out. We can pretty much figure out it's dangerous."  
  
"I know you can Dib, but still...It was really only a space filler..."  
  
"What's Superengineeredbycoryl337deathvirus do exactly?"  
  
"I could go into a bunch of details Azka, but that'd take even more time, and apparently Dib here, doesn't want to waste any more time...but...It's basically is a horrible virus that makes you eventually explode along with other evil things that make you all dead-like."  
  
"Oh...Ok. Hey! Maybe if we would have went through that window we would have missed you and ended up running into Corey's secret lab and being exposed to the Superengineeredbycorey...um...virus of doom thing and then we'd all become deathly ill as it ate our organs and made us explode, causing our exploding organs to fly everywhere and knock out anyone who came close, including Corey! Hey yeah! Maybe Corey would be hit by one of our flying, exploding organs and die! Then we wouldn't have to worry about defeating him and..."  
  
"Enough about the window Azka-Monkey! It's driving me batty!"  
  
"But...It's just that I want to know what would have happened if we would have gone out that window! I mean, we could have gone out the window and be kidnapped by a ton of cheese-wielding bugs! Or maybe we'd fall down the rabbit hole and end up in some messed up Dementia version of Wonderland! Oh! What if we were to go through that window and bang up our heads really badly so we forgot who we were and started acting like characters from Lord of the Rings..."  
  
"Really Azka...That's enough..."  
  
"Hey Dib! Who do you think you'd act like? Oh! Maybe you'd be Frodo!"  
  
"Um...no..."  
  
"Hey, yeah Azka...Dib WOULD look cute like Frodo...hey! What about Zim as..."  
  
"NO! ENOUGH DAFT! ENOUGH! I DO NOT WANT TO HEAR WHO YOU THINK I'D LOOK CUTE AS IN LORD OF THE STUPID EARTH-MONKEY RING! I DO NOT CARE! "  
  
"Ok...fine...besides...we have to go defeat Corey I guess...Alright everyone! Let's go!"  
  
[With that, they began their journey down the hall. Daft walked in the front of the line, holding the metal rod by her side, a serious, determined look on her face. Next came Zim, holding a large mechanical piece of junk he called a 'laser' After him was Azka, grasping Kris and Joe tightly and looking around silently. Behind her was Dib who was looking about the darkness, holding his little contraption made from a broom and a few rubber bands. It was supposed to double as a rock launcher and a stick. Leboa brought up the rear, hands clamped over her mouth, bubbling with excitement and going over her part. The halls were long, silent, and dark, seeming to slowly bend inwards to crush the little group. MiniMoose suddenly appeared beside Daft, having floated all the way up the hall silently to float about by her shoulder. Daft turned her head as MiniMoose squeaked softly.]  
  
"Squeak..."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Squeak..."  
  
"Oh. No. Don't worry. I'm sure we know what we're doing. If we have enough adrenaline in us all we'll be able to beat him."  
  
"Squeak."  
  
"Hope, MiniMoose. Keep up your hope."  
  
"Squeak."  
  
"We're almost there. Don't worry. We'll make it."  
  
[MiniMoose looked at Daft and Daft nodded as reassurance. Zim grumbled under his breath about something as Dib started to become a bit fidgety. Azka looked around, catching the fear of the others, adding onto her own fear. She wanted to turn around and leave, but knew that she couldn't do that now. She had to prove herself worthy enough to battle. Besides, she had to be strong for Kris and Joe. If they caught her fear, they would be worthless and then they would die horrible deaths and she didn't need any more heartbreak. Kris and Joe were her friends now. The hall suddenly came to an end, opening up into a large open space filled with filming equipment. Behind the equipment stood the familiar set, the hallway stretching far into the distance, doors holding the horrors of the unknown lining the halls on both sides. Oddly, there were lights on here. The place, though lit, was still dim and shadows still covered a large portion of the area, making it easy for someone to hide in, unnoticed until you got right up to them. Daft stopped at the entrance to the set and turned to face the others.]  
  
"Ok guys...this is it. Remember what we discussed. Don't fear him, for it only feeds his power. Leboa, wait here until you hear the signal. Don't let him know you're here! Got it?"  
  
[Leboa nodded and shrunk down into the shadows, disappearing completely.]  
  
"Good. Now, let's go get this over with. Good luck everyone. If we don't make it out alive, I'd just like to say this. It's been a pleasure working with you guys and I enjoyed it a lot...."  
  
[The group nodded silently in agreement and a moment of silence followed.]  
  
"Well...it's now or never. Good Luck. Let's go."  
  
[With that, Daft turned about, grasped the pole tightly and headed towards the lit up set bravely. It was too late to turn back now, so the others followed her, weaving in and out of shadows and equipment towards the set. This was it. They were headed toward the final confrontation. The outcome of this would mean either the death of Dementia, or the defeat of Corey. Which would it be? They could only wait and see.]  
|A/N: Well...it's almost over. Hang in there. This will all be resolved in the next chapter. Thank you Azka and Corey for bearing with me while I tried to finish THIS chapter. Hopefully next chapter won't be so hard to complete. Don't explode! ~Daft| 


	5. PART FIVE

|PART FIVE|  
  
[Daft made her way around the equipment, the others following reluctantly while Leboa waited, completely concealed in the shadows. As they approached the set, Dib and Zim became more and more uneasy and began to look about nervously. Azka seems not to notice this and looks as if she's ready for anything. Daft stops suddenly and the others end up running into her. She shushes them over her shoulder before Zim can complain. Dib raises his eyebrows as Daft stares intensely at the Dementia Hall. There's a slight movement from the shadows to the right and suddenly, out of nowhere, stands Corey. He towers over them, his shadowy cape seeming to be alive with its own amazing shadowy power. Daft frowned and stepped forward out of the shadows and into the dim light of the set. She looked upwards to Corey with a look of defiance. When he spoke, his voice sounded deep, evil, and raspy, like all the creepy evil things sound in movies and such.]  
  
"50. j00 |)1|)|\|7 |2|_||\| 4VV4j..."  
  
"I'd never run away from you."  
  
"|_135!!!!"  
  
"TRUTH!"  
  
"j00 |_13. j00 |24|\| 7|-|47 0|\|3 71|\/|3....|23|\/|3|\/||33|2?"  
  
"THAT DOESN'T COUNT!"  
  
"j35 17 |)035."  
  
"No it doesn't."  
  
"j35...17 |)035!"  
  
"No! It DOESN'T!"  
  
"j35...17...|)035!"  
  
"Ok Ok! Enough of this nonsense! I might have ran that last time, but that was because you were trying to eat my brain...This time though, I'm protecting something I care about! SO I WON'T RUN!"  
  
[As the conversation was going on Azka, Zim and Dib were staring at each other, puzzled. They understood what Daft was saying, but had no idea what Corey was talking about. The really only got the idea because of what Daft responded to. MiniMoose seemed to understand so Azka leaned over and whispered to MiniMoose.]  
  
"Psst. What is he saying?"  
  
"Squeak."  
  
"Oh...that's helpful."  
  
"Squeak?"  
  
[Azka blinked and Dib shook his head. Corey and Daft continued their little conversation, Daft keeping a determined face and not letting any fear show through.]  
  
"I've come to take you out Corey."  
  
"VV3|_|_....j00 (4|\|7."  
  
"Why Not?"  
  
"1|\/| 1|\|\/1|\|91|3|_3!"  
  
"What! No you aren't!"  
  
"j35 1 4|\/|"  
  
"No! No you're not!"  
  
"j35...j35 1 4|\/|"  
  
"No! You're not!"  
  
"j35..."  
  
"No!"  
  
"j35"  
  
"No!"  
  
[Daft and Corey argued and Azka blinked, confused by what was going on. Zim was beginning to fall asleep, MiniMoose now resting on his head. Dib stood there, eye twitching a bit when he suddenly burst out and screamed at the top of his lungs, causing everyone to stop and look at him.]  
  
"JUST WHAT THE HECK IS HE SAYING ANYWAY?! WE NEED A TRANSLATOR! AND NO! MINIMOOSE CAN'T DO THAT BECAUSE ALL HE DOES IS SQUEAK AND IT'S NOT LIKE ANYONE REALLY HAS ANY CLUE WHAT HE'S SAYING ANYWAY! EITHER WE GET A TRANSLATOR OR YOU'RE GOING TO LOOSE US IN YOUR CONVERSATION!"  
  
[Azka blinked a few times as they all stared at Dib who stood panting and looking extremely ticked off. Suddenly a loud voice rang out from the ceiling.]  
  
"FINE FINE! YOU'LL GET A TRANSLATOR! NOW...SILENCE AND CONTINUE!"  
  
[Daft nodded and went back to arguing with Corey and the others waited patiently for a translation.]  
  
"We're here to defeat you and you WILL be defeated! So there."  
  
"VV|-|47 |\/|4|35 j00 7|-|1|\|| j00 (4|\| |)3|=347 |\/|3?"  
  
-What makes you think you can defeat me?-  
  
"Well, for one...I've got my friends backing me up and they're all ready to kick you butt. That, and we have weapons!"  
  
"|*|_||\|j VV34|*0|\|5..."  
  
-Puny weapons...-  
  
"They're not puny! You just have that evil cape so they seem puny! We can take you!"  
  
"|\|0 j00 (4|\|7"  
  
-No you can't-  
  
"Yes. I can."  
  
"|\|0 j00 (4|\|7"  
  
-No you can't-  
  
"Yes...I CAN and I WILL!"  
  
"|\|0...j00 (4|\|7 4|\||) j00 VV0|\|7!"  
  
-No...you can't and you won't!-  
  
"OK OK! LET'S NOT GET INTO THAT AGAIN!"  
  
"|=1|\|3...  
  
-Fine...-  
  
"Now...back to business. I would have just asked you to leave in the first place, but then you went and ate my camera crew...so now you're going to pay for it!"  
  
"|-|4|-|. |)0 j00 |*0551|3|_j 7|-|1|\|| j00 (4|\| |)3|=347 |\/|3 VV17|-| j00|2....|)373|2|\/|1|\|34710|\|?"  
  
-Hah. Do you possibly think you can defeat me with your....Determination?-  
  
"Yes."  
  
"|-|4|-|4|-|4|-|4|-|4|-|4|-|4|-|4|-|4|-|4|-|4|-|4|-|4|-|4|-|4|-|4|-|4|-|4!"  
  
-Laughter-  
  
"What's so funny?"  
  
"|)373|2|\/|1|\|34710|\| 4|_0|\|3 (4|\|7 |)3|=347 |\/|3."  
  
-Determination alone can't defeat me.-  
  
[Zim leaned over to Dib and Azka, finally away now that their little conversation was coming to an end. He whispered to them as the two spoke.]  
  
"She's got him distracted. Let's go for it now. Dib, you move in to the left, Azka to the right. I'm assuming that the left side is his dominant side, so Azka, you strike first."  
  
"His LEFT side? It'd be safer to assume that his RIGHT side is the dominant one. Not many people are left handed Zim."  
  
"Quiet Dib. This has nothing to do with him being right-handed or left- handed. Now. Azka. Attack him first and catch him off guard, then Dib can attack and then I'll come in and attack from behind."  
  
"Um...I can't take the first hit Zim."  
  
"Why not Azka?"  
  
"Well...I have found that Kris and Joe are extremely sensitive to homicidal Corey monsters. It would be melancholy to have them go first."  
  
[Zim sighs and rolls his eyes.]  
  
"Kris and Joe are BROKEN BROOMSTICKS!"  
  
"So? They're my friends! You don't endanger your friends by making them attack first. I'd go if it was something else. But not Kris and Joe. That'd be bad luck, like kissing a frog while standing on the statue of liberty. Bad things tend to happen afterwards."  
  
[Dib and Zim stared at her before looking at each other and then turning their eyes to MiniMoose who squeaked and blinked as well. By this time, Daft was close to attempting to finish the little argument and start fighting so she could get it over with. Corey stood there, seemingly not worried about what they could do to him.]  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"(4|_|53 17 15|\|7 1|\| |\/|473|214|_ |=0|2|\/| 4|\||) (4|\|6 |)0 7|- |15..."  
  
-Cause it isn't in material form and can't do this...-  
  
[Then, before anyone could move, Corey's arm swished downward towards Daft, the shadowy powers of the Cloak of Evil making his arm extend so it could reach her. Daft squeaked and ducked as the arm swished across the open space she had once stood in. Popping back up, Daft raised her pole, Filler Bunny tied to the end of it, and swung it at him. Corey took a step back, dodging the swinging pole easily. He laughed evilly and stepped to the side as Daft swung the pole at him again, taking another step forward as she did so, closing the gap between her pole and Corey's body. Corey was dodging the blows easily, the shadowy power of the cloak enhancing the evil already stored within him. He stopped as Daft set the tip of the pole to the floor and glared at him.]  
  
"VV0VV. 50|\/|3 5|1|_|_z, |)4|=7...j00 4|_|\/|057 |-|17 |\/|3!"  
  
-Wow. Some skills, Daft...You almost hit me!-  
  
[Instead of snapping back with a comment, Daft leapt forward and thwaped him with the pole finally, hitting him across the shoulder. Corey cried out in pain, becoming angry now. Daft leapt back, grinning.]  
  
"Look Corey...I think I got you!"  
  
[Zim whispered loudly in Dib and Azka's ears, urging them on to begin the attack.]  
  
"GO! NOW'S YOUR CHANCE! NO EXCUSES!"  
  
[Azka, now that the first blow had been dealt, literally leapt at the chance to take a swing at Corey. Raising Kris as she leapt towards him, she tossed Joe at his head. Joe flew through the air and bounced off his head just as he began to lunge forward towards Daft. He turned to face Azka as Joe clattered to the floor, rolling away into the shadows. He growls at Azka and she hesitates, not really wanting to risk loosing Kris, but knowing that if she doesn't act now, Corey will most defiantly hurt her. She leaps at him, raising Kris in the air once again. Corey meets her halfway in the air to tackle her to the ground. Azka stabs Kris into the nearest body part, which just so happens to be his arm. Corey winces a bit and pulls back his arm as Azka goes into a half-mad poking frenzy, jabbing Kris into whatever body part she can get at. Corey backs up a bit as she continues to stab at him.]  
  
"DIE FOUL BEING!"  
  
[Poke]  
  
"0VV(|-|!"  
  
-Ouch-  
  
"Die die die!"  
  
[Poke. Poke. Poke]  
  
"0VV(|-|! 0VV(|-|! 0VV(|-|!"  
  
-Ouch. Ouch. Ouch-  
  
"EEEEEEEEEEEE!"  
  
[Poke. Jab. Poke.]  
  
"0VV(|-|! 570|* 17!"  
  
-Ouch! Stop it!-  
  
"For the love of all that is Zimmy and good, DIE!"  
  
[POKE]  
  
"4|_|219|-|7! 7|-|475 3|\|0|_|9|-|!"  
  
-Alright! That's enough!-  
  
[Corey grabs Kris and yanks it out of Azka's hands and she blinks at him, realizing that she probably needs to run now or get seriously injured. Corey snaps Kris in two and tosses him into the shadows, coming after Azka. She screams and turns around to run away, but Corey grabs her and picks her up. Dib springs into action and chucks a large metal chunk at Corey which bounces off his back. Corey turns around to dodge Daft's pole once again. He tosses Azka to the side like a rag doll and comes after Dib and Daft. Zim leaps in from behind and sends a kick to his back, knocking him over. Zim stands there and laughs as Corey falls to the floor. Daft looks over at Zim and yells to him as Corey blends in with the shadows to slide over to Zim, who is busy laughing.]  
  
"ZIM! LOOK OUT!"  
  
"Mwahahahahahahaha-huh? Wha...AAAAAAHHHHH!"  
  
[Corey pops up from the floor and sends his own kick straight into Zim's stomach, sending him flying backwards into the shadows. Azka is pulling herself up from where she was tossed, weaker now and missing Kris and Joe severely. She frowned as she saw Zim go flying backward and stood up, reading herself for another attack. Daft leapt at Corey and brought the pole down on his back, causing him to turn around to fight Dib and her. Dib chucked another piece of metal at him, this time, he dodged it though. Azka ran at him from behind, running up to him and kicking him hard in the shins before turning tails to run away from him and into the shadows. Corey turned to take out Azka and Daft thwacked him once again, following Azka's lead, and disappeared into the shadows. Dib came up and hit him again with the metal piece he tied to a string and also disappeared into the shadows. Corey was completely alone in the light now. He looked around when suddenly, out of nowhere, came Azka. She ran up and kicked at him, missing, but ran back into the shadows before he could get her. Dib came out of nowhere and hit him with the metal on the string before disappearing back into the shadows. This went on, each one popping out of a different place in the shadows and attacking him at different times. In the shadows themselves, Daft found Zim monkeying with his 'laser gun'.]  
  
"Zim! What are you doing? Why didn't you just hit him with the laser in the first place? What was with the theatrical kick-and-laugh routine?"  
  
"Silence Meat-bag! It was only a warm up. My laser works now. Just you wait and see. I'm going to go next and catch him off guard and then show him just what he's messing with!"  
  
"Fine...just...don't miss him!"  
  
"No worries...A mighty Irken like Zim never misses!"  
  
[Suddenly, Zim stood up, aiming his weapon and rushed out of the shadows. Corey turned towards him as he stopped, aiming his weapon at him and grinning wildly. Corey stepped back a moment, almost as if he was unsure of what was going to happen next.]  
  
"This is the beginning of the end, Corey-Monster-Thing! Now I, ZIM, shall show you just what you're up against!"  
  
[Zim let out a howl of laughter as he squeezed the trigger. There was a slight whirring sound that came from the gun as a green light started to glow within the heap of metal, crudely shaped like a gun. Zim continued to laugh as Corey stepped back once more, staring at the 'gun', still unsure of what to expect and to the others, a little hesitant. Zim squeezed the trigger again and there was a loud POP! sound. Daft, Azka and Dib turned away and shielded their eyes as a bright light flashed from the gun. Zim closed his eyes, laughing even harder. Corey turned, shielding his own eyes from the bright light. The room was light up with a hot white flash, all the shadows disappearing, revealing everything hidden in the shadows. Leboa blinked, becoming momentarily blinded by the bright flash. Lucky for them, Corey was busy shielding his eyes so he didn't see that she was there in the shadows.  
  
The bright light faded and Zim opened his eyes slowly as the others turned back to see if he had gotten him. Daft blinked as she saw Corey standing there, still in one piece virtually unscathed. Corey blinked from below the cloak's hood and turned back towards Zim to stare at him for a moment. A puzzled and angry look came over Zim's face as the lighted died off in the gun. He pulled the trigger again. Nothing happened. Corey began to laugh and move towards Zim slowly.]  
  
"|=00|_15|-| Z1|\/|. |_19|-|7 |0035|\|7 3|=|=3(7 |\/|3!"  
  
-Foolish Zim. Light Doesn't effect me!-  
  
"Foolish?! I'm NOT foolish!...I must have hit the wrong trigger. THIS! is the right trigger. Now...PREPARE TO BE BLASTED TO SMITHEREENS!"  
  
[Zim pulled the trigger once more and a clicking sound came to their ears. Corey shook his head and advanced on Zim. Zim looked down at his gun wide- eyed and back up at Corey who pounced on him. Zim screamed and ran off to the side into the shadows once more.]  
  
"ZIM! YOU CRAZY SHRIMP YOU! I THOUGHT YOU SAID YOUR GUN WORKED!"  
  
[Daft screamed at Zim as he fled the scene. She leapt out of the shadows and thwacked Corey over the head with the pole once more, causing him to turn around in her direction, allowing Azka to move in for another hit from behind. Just as she came running out of the shadows to kick him once more, he turned away from Daft and sent a handful of rabid dust moths out of his sleeve towards her. She screamed as they gathered around her and attacked her, sending her running around like a chicken with its head cut off, screaming and batting at the moths. Daft's eyes grew wide and she stopped momentarily to stare at the moths. Corey laughed and turned back to Daft.]  
  
"|-|4\/3 j00 |\/|37 |\/|j |\|3VV |=|213|\||)5?"  
  
-Have you met my new friends?-  
  
"Dust M-m-mo-moths?"  
  
"j35"  
  
-Yes.-  
  
"M-m-mo-moths?"  
  
"j35. |\/|07|-|5."  
  
-Yes. Moths.-  
  
"Mothie, mothie, mothies?"  
  
"J35! |\/|07|-|13 |\/|07|-|13 |\/|07|-|135!"  
  
-YES! MOTHIE MOTHIE MOTHIES!-  
  
"But...Mothies are....CREEPY AND MOTHIE-MOTH-LIKE! AND...YUCK!"  
  
[Corey sighed as Daft's eyes went wide and she wiggled her fingers and looked around all paranoid-like at the thought of moths. Behind them, Azka and Dib were running around batting away moths from their heads, screaming, while Zim ran from them both, not wanting to be caught up in the mothie- ness of it all.]  
  
"7|-|3|\| 1 9|_|355 j00 VV0|_||_|)|\|7 |\/|1|\||) |\/|3371|\|9 7|-|3|\/| |_||* (|_053..."  
  
-Then I guess you wouldn't mind meeting them up close...-  
  
[Daft's eyes went wide as Corey laughed, releasing more Dust Moths at her. She screamed and ran about, swinging the pole at them and running in circles. She hated Dust Moths. They were all creepy and dusty and...moth- like! Corey laughed and laughed while watching the four run about swatting moths away. It looked like he had found a weakness.]  
  
"50. 1 9|_|355 7|-|15 15 7|-|3 |3391|\||\|1|\|9 0|= 7|-|3 3|\||)...|219|-|7 |)4|=7?"  
  
-So. I guess this is the beginning of the end...Right Daft?-  
  
[Daft ran about screaming and Corey took it as a yes and grinned from beneath his hood. He then took one great leap and tackled Dib who was busy screaming about a moth in his eye. He took him down with one hit, tossing him off to the side so he rolled into the shadows, knocking over some electrical equipment. Next, he reached across with one swing and knocked Azka back into the wall. She fell to the ground, rubbing her arm and her stomach where he hit her and wincing in pain. He turned around and grabbed Daft, picking her up and tossing her at Zim. Daft flew through the air to smash right into Zim and send them both back into the electrical equipment. Daft lay dizzy upon Zim as he struggled to get up and get back to fighting.]  
  
"C'MON DAFT! GET OFF ME! GET OF ME! I, ZIM, COMMAND YOU TO GET OFF ME! WE MUST GET BACK TO FIGHTING HIM OR HE'LL WIN"  
  
[Zim squirmed beneath her and finally pushed her off so she could lay dazed upon the floor, the pole with Filler Bunny strapped on it clenched tightly in her hand still. Zim stood up and ran towards Corey, using his laser gun as a club as he swung it down. Azka started to get up to get back into the game as Corey threw Zim off of him. Zim flew through the air and hit Azka once more, knocking them both down and into the wall again. Azka lay there, not moving, as Zim stood up weakly and looked at her. He turned and angrily shouted in her ear.]  
  
"Azka! GET UP! C'MON! WE'VE GOTTA GIVE THIS ALL WE'VE GOT! NO SLEEPING! AZKA! Azka?"  
  
[He frowned and looked closer. Azka had either passed out from the injuries or knocked out when he landed on her. Zim reached down and shook her arm and called out her name once again. No response. Corey was sliding up behind them, menacingly as he tried to wake her up. Azka lay still and unmoving, her breathing rather shallow. Zim became slightly worried, but only because the death of another Irken was slightly saddening, even to his little heart. Corey reached down, hands outstretched towards Zim as he attempted to bring Azka back to consciousness. Suddenly, he swooped down, grabbing Zim by the neck. Zim barely had time to turn around to see Corey coming when two hands were clamped about his neck. Zim cried out, but was cut off by the pressure being applied. Instinctively, his hands went up to claw at those around his neck. After a few seconds of this, Zim started to see black spots and became slightly dizzy. Corey laughed.]  
  
"|_|_|(j j00. j00 937 70 83 7|-|3 |=1||257 70 533 7|-|3 3|\||)..."  
  
-Lucky you. You get to be the first to see the end...-  
  
[Zim's eyes slowly closed, rolling slightly up into his head as a loud THWAP sound was heard. Suddenly, the pressure was gone and Zim was on the floor, staring at the ceiling wondering if he was alive still. Corey had turned around to see Daft standing there, propping herself up with her pole, something in her hand. Corey looked closer to realize that it was a....TYPO! He narrowed his eyes at her.]  
  
"50...j00 VV4|\||\|4 |=19|-|7 VV17|-| 7j|*05? 8|21|\|9 17 0|\|."  
  
-So...You wanna fight with typos? Bring it on.-  
  
[She narrowed her eyes and grinned, gripping the typo.]  
  
"Fine. Prepare to hurt..."  
  
[Just as she raised her arm to throw it, Corey reached into his cloak and pulled out a GIANT FIRE GUN OF FIERY, EXPLODY, DOOM! Daft's eyes went wide as she realized just WHAT she was now up against. Looking at her measly little typo, she squeaked a bit as Daft fired at her. A large blast of yellowish-orange fire came her way. She screamed and leapt to the side, barely missing being burned to a crisp. Corey laughed as he looked around him. They were all laying helpless on the ground now. He was going to win. Dementia would be no more! Just as these thoughts came across his mind, Daft stood up weakly, yet again, and called out to the others.]  
  
"No! We can't give up! C'MON GUYS! WE CAN DO IT! I KNOW WE CAN! We've been through this whole nightmare together and are we gonna let this the evil nightmare creature win? No! Remember all the fun we've had together with Dementia? Remember all the people out there we made laugh, or at least made wonder what we were smoking when we did this? Remember all the wonderful guests? Remember how much fun we had when we recorded the stories? We can't let all that go now! We can't let Corey take that from us. We have so much more to do with this show! If we give up now and let Corey win, we'll be letting all those memories go and damaging the future. If we just hang on, we'll make it and defeat him. I really believe we can. So guys, please...GET UP! GET UP NOW! C'MON!"  
  
[Daft's words came to their ears, motivating them a bit. Dib rolled over to look at them as Zim sat up, hands massaging his throat. Zim turned about to poke Azka to wake her up when he saw her already pulling herself up. Blinking, Zim wondered just how she had magically woken up. Were Daft's words really that powerful? Zim shook his head. No. Couldn't be. She just came to because she actually had will power and was actually using it for once. Daft continued to pull herself up as she spoke to them, taking time to talk to each one and encourage them.]  
  
"Zim! Remember how much fun you had making 'Ransom' with Gaz? Remember how you always were razzing Dib on his acting skills and on just about everything else until he tried to kill you? What about the time when you told us all you were quitting the show because you thought we were 'Stupid, morons with the I.Q of a gnat and the attention span of one too' and then left, only to come running back as a HUGE ANGRY MOB of Zimmy fans tried to maul you? Or like the time when you did that little part on Heart Shaped Box and then later we got you to admit that crying was kinda nice and..."  
  
"SHUT UP DAFT!"  
  
"Sorry. But Zim! Those were special times and if you give up now you'll be letting them go. Besides, what would the Tallest think if you were wiped out by some stupid HUMAN in a cloak while on a mission? You'd be letting down your Tallest, your race, your planet, and yourself. So don't give up Zim! Get up and LET'S KICK HIS BUTT!"  
  
[Zim nodded and pulled himself up as Daft went on to speak to Dib.]  
  
"Dib! Don't give up now! You have to remember all the special times we've had on the show! How much fun it was to work with the rest of the cast, even if they were constantly picking on you. Remember, Dib, how much fun it was to be named Co-host for the first time in your life! You got to be named as Co-host before anyone else AND when we weren't even supposed to have a Co-host! You have so much potential Dib, don't let Corey ruin that for you by killing you off! Remember the fun times, like when that chocolate blob of doom ate your brain! Or when we accidentally used your brain as a prop because Zim switched it before the show! Dib, don't forget how fun it was to work with Cosmo and Wanda and don't forget how they said you could go and visit them anytime you want....right before Gir dumped coffee on you that is...BUT STILL! You're an important part of this show Dib, and if you die, the show dies a bit as well. If Corey kills you though, he'll kill us and the show as well and if you give up, you'll be letting that happen sooner...so GET UP! C'mon Dib! You can do it! I BELIEVE IN YOU!"  
  
[Dib narrows his eyes at Corey and pulls himself to his feet, realizing that he IS needed and that if he gives up, he'll be letting everyone down. Corey looks over at Dib and then at Zim before looking back to Daft. He growls. Daft then turns her attention towards Azka to give her motivation.]  
  
"AZKA! There's really nothing to bring up about you and Dementia, considering you've only been a guest on the show for this nightmare. But still! You have a wonderful writing career ahead of you and if you give up now, Corey will destroy you and then you won't be able to write anything...unless you come back alive from the grave, but that'd just be spooky and not right. Besides...if he wins, Dementia goes and then there'll be no chance that you could ever come back again! I really enjoyed having you on the show and maybe if we make it out of here alive, you can come back and do another clip! So get up and let's go! YOU CAN DO IT!"  
  
[Azka, already standing, nods and puts on a determined face before glaring at Corey. Corey frantically looks about as the others pull themselves up to their feet and begin walking slowly and menacingly towards him, brandishing their weapons once more. Determination burns brightly in their eyes as they approach him. Corey turned about, watching each one carefully, not wanting to give anyone an open shot.]  
  
"50...j00 7|-|1|\|| j00 (4|\| |)3|=347 |\/|3 |\|0VV?"  
  
-So...you think you can defeat me not?-  
  
"We will or we'll die trying..."  
  
[Daft takes her chance and leaps at him, swinging her pole downwards, forcing him to move to the left and right into Zim's range. Zim thwaps him with his laser gun he's now using as a club. Corey slashes at him, but Zim moves backwards and attacks again. Corey moves to the side, right into Azka's range and she runs over and kicks him in his shins, causing him to fall over, enabling Dib to have easy access to strike him in the chest. Corey forces himself to move to the side, barely missing Dib's strike. He leaps up and extends his hand, which now is equip with very sharp spikes. Daft ducks and strikes him on his shoulder. They continue to force Corey to move around to avoid their blows, only to move him into the range of another's weapon. Keeping him on his toes, they attack fiercely, not willing to give up just yet. Before long, though, it's apparent that Corey had begun to anticipate their attacks and was now dodging them easily. From the shadows, Leboa watches with MiniMoose who is sitting on her head. She whispers to him, shaking with excitement.]  
  
"Is it time yet? Can I go hug Corey now?"  
  
"Squeak."  
  
"Awwww...ok...Fine."  
  
[Leboa crosses her arms and slumps down to wait some more for the signal. By that time, it was apparent they needed to restratagize. Corey knocked Dib back into the shadows and Daft motioned for the rest to retreat into them as well. They followed her instructions, slipping off to go crouch down beside Dib. Daft spoke in hurried whispers.]  
  
"Guys...We need a new strategy. He's figured it out and now he's just playing' with us."  
  
"Well no duh!"  
  
[Azka looked about as Corey stood there, arms crossed, amused at their feeble tactics.]  
  
"(0|\/|3, (0|\/|3 |)4|=7...|_375 |\|07 VV4573 71|\/|3. |_375 |\|07 |33|* |=473 VV4171|\|9!"  
  
-Come, come Daft...Let's not waste time. Let's not keep fate waiting!-  
  
[Corey looked around, the place was silent and almost dead. He shook his head. The cowards, hiding in the shadows and not facing him. What did they hope to accomplish by hiding? They should just come on out and get it over with.]  
  
"|\|0 |_|53 |-|1|)1|\|9. (0|\/|3 0|_|7, (0|\/|3 0|_|7. VV|-|3|23 3\/3|2 j00 4|23..."  
  
-No use hiding. Come out, come out. Where ever you are...-  
  
[Suddenly, out of the shadows, MiniMoose came flying at Corey. He bounced off his head with a squeak and fell to the floor, rolling away into the shadows. Corey jerked back from the surprise of having something thrown at him from no where. Angry now, he growled and turned towards their place in the shadows. Knowing exactly where they were, he leapt at them, though playing with them now. Their eyes went wide as they saw him leap towards them. Zim screamed at Azka as Daft pushed them aside.]  
  
"WHY DID YOU THROW THAT AT HIM?!"  
  
"Sorry...I was just...caught up in the moment!"  
  
"MOVE!"  
  
[Daft pushed Azka and Zim over to the right and drug Dib off to the left with her as he scrambled to get up. Corey landed right were Dib had been laying only a few seconds before. The ground crunched a bit from the force of the landing. Corey pulled out another Fire gun, identical to the first and aimed it towards Azka and Zim with this left hand, his right hand crossing underneath the left to aim the other gun at Daft and Dib. He fired at them and their eyes went wide. Azka screamed and grabbed onto Zim, pulling him down instinctively. Zim cried out as he was tugged down to the floor by his antennas. Daft pushed Dib off to the side and rolled the other way herself, crashing into a camera, knocking it down upon herself. Corey laughed and continued to fire at random, laughing insanely as he did, just for effects. Azka leapt up and ran away from the blasts of fire, dragging Zim along with her. The blasts of fire struck the set, causing it to become a bit destroyed. Bits of debris flew across the room, showering on everyone.  
  
Daft squirms out from under the camera, checking her arm which is a bit cut open, before searching for her pole. It literally comes walking up to her, Filler Bunny hopping up to her, pole still strapped to his as it drags across the ground. Daft grabs the pole, hopping up, and charges Corey once again. Filler Bunny screams as he flies through the air to smash down upon Corey's back. He turns about, aiming both guns at her, and fires, grinning. Daft jumps to the side to avoid the first blast, and ducks to avoid the second blast. From where she crouches on the ground, she swings the pole towards his shins in attempts to knock him off his feet. He leaps up into the air, firing downwards at her. Daft tucks into a backwards roll to escape a certain fiery death. The blasts hit the floor, creating a hole in it as they continue to charge downwards, destroying the floors below the main one. Corey lands two feet from the hole and fires again at Daft. She rolls to the side just as Azka comes running up behind Corey and kicks him in the back of his knee. Corey cries out and falls over a bit, turning around as his knee hits the floor to fire at Azka. She screams and ducks, missing being hit by a few inches. Zim leaps on Corey's back, grabbing him around his throat and whacking him about the head with his laser gun-club- thing.  
  
Corey throws Zim off and turns around to fire at him when Dib comes out of no where and tackles him. Corey rolls off to the side, throwing Dib on top of Azka who was running towards him for another kick-and-run. Daft comes out of no where and thwaps him with the pole. He grabs it and reverses the attack, throwing Daft across the room and back into the dormant equipment. He stands, going into an insane fit of firing the gun at anything and everything, laughing like a maniac as he does this once again. The four find themselves running around like headless chickens to avoid being hit by the fire or by the debris. Azka is so tired she can hardly run, the only thing keeping her going now is her wish to stay alive. Dib stops, panting and trying to catch his breath. Daft is pulling herself up from a pile of knocked over equipment, examining the gash on her arm. Zim, though, is attacking non-stop with the fiery invader's spirit, but he's the only one that has any zest left. It's clear now that the others are just too tired or wounded to go on any longer. Things look absolutely hopeless now. Azka sighs, giving up hope. She leans against the nearest crumbling set wall, glaring at Corey once more before shutting her eyes and mumbling to herself.]  
  
"Yep, I should have seen this coming when I agreed to that interview."  
  
[Dib's so weak now that he's fallen over to stare hopelessly at Corey and Zim. Daft is dragging herself back into battle with a slightly new fire in her eyes. She raises her pole once more to attack him alongside Zim. Corey easily throws them off and laughs at them, pitying their existence. Zim hits the wall and falls over, laying there and staring at the ceiling. Daft pulls herself up and glares at Corey.]  
  
"91\/3 17 |_||*. 7|-|3 94|\/|35 0\/3|2, |)4|=7. j00|23 4|_|_ 0|_|774 0|*710|\|5. j00 |_0053."  
  
-Give it up. The game's over, Daft. You're all outta options. You Loose.-  
  
"Not. Just. Yet."  
  
[Daft raised her pole into the air and waved it about, signaling Leboa. Corey watched her silently, wondering just what a stupid move like that was supposed to do. For a few moments, things were silent and nothing happened. Corey looked about and started to laugh.]  
  
"15 7|-|47 7|-|3 8357 j00\/3 907? j00 4|23 |847|-|371(."  
  
-Is that the best you've got? You are pathetic.-  
  
[Corey began laughing when suddenly a high-pitched squeak is heard. Corey's eyes widen from beneath his hood as he realizes just what that squeak belongs to. Suddenly, out of the shadows, flies none other than Leboa. She latches onto Corey, arms wrapped tightly about his neck while she squeals in joy, hugging him to death. Corey screams, dropping both weapons and trying to pull her off of him as he runs around. Corey's now acting like a headless chicken as Azka opens her eyes to see Leboa bringing him down. Finally, after fighting almost to the death, Corey is brought down by Leboa. He falls over, twitching and writhing about like a fish out of water. Leboa is hugging him tightly as Daft walks over, grinning. Azka smiles weakly and manages to pull herself up from the wall and run over to where Daft stands. Zim and Dib eventually join them. Corey lay on the ground twitching as Leboa hung onto him tightly. Daft leaned down, suddenly extremely happy about this and grinned like the Cheshire Cat at Corey.]  
  
"Hah! I Win! YOU Lose..."  
  
"3\/1|_..."  
  
-Evil...-  
  
"Yes, Yes. But so are you and this is what you deserve for attempting to destroy Dementia. Now...let's get this cloak off of you so you'll be easier for the police to handle..."  
  
"|\|0! VV417!"  
  
-NO! WAIT!-  
  
"What now?"  
  
"1|\/| |\|07 VV34|21|\|9 4|\|j7|-|1|\|9 |_||\||)3|2 7|-|15!"  
  
-I'm not wearing anything under this!-  
  
[Daft rolled her eyes as Azka expressed her disgust in a slight eye twitch. Dib and Zim grimaced at the thought and looked to Daft, pleading not to find out if it was true or not.]  
  
"Nice try Corey."  
  
[Before anyone could protest, Daft pulled off the hood, revealing his face. They gasped as they realized that he really WAS human. Next, Daft opened up a small box that she pulled from her pocket, and opened it. Instantly, the hood was sucked into it, along with the robe revealing that Corey was fibbing. The three behind Daft sighed with relief as Daft shut the box and put it back into her pocket. Corey lay there glaring at her, unable to move because of Leboa who was clamped on him. Daft raised her eyebrow to question Corey.]  
  
"Why'd you do it Corey?"  
  
[He glared at her, not talking.]  
  
"C'mon. I'd like to know why you'd do something like that."  
  
[Still nothing. Daft sighed and crouched down to stare directly in his face.]  
  
"I'm asking you nicely. I'd like to know from you instead of from the police that will surely poke and prod to try and get it out of you as well."  
  
[Corey surprised them all by speaking in an understandable language. Without the magical cloak of evil, his l337 skills weren't as apparent.]  
  
"I did it because I was bored."  
  
"Hey! How come I can understand him now?!"  
  
"Well, Azka, without the mighty power of the Cloak of Evilness, his l337 skills aren't so apparent. Sure, he's still that powerful, but there's no way for him to bring that out without the cloak. In other words, the Cloak of Evilness enhanced his powers and brought them to the surface where he could use them. But not even the Cloak of Evilness could withstand the power of Leboa, right Corey?"  
  
[Corey growled as a voice sounded from down the hall. The voice was followed by the sound of boots crunching on the debris that had made its way down the hallway.]  
  
"EVERYBODY STAY CALM! THIS IS THE POLICE! WE'RE HERE TO HELP YOU! EVERYONE FREEZE. IF YOU'RE EVIL, LIE DOWN WITH YOUR HANDS ON YOUR HEAD AND DON'T MOVE!"  
  
[Right before their eyes, the police chief came in, followed by Jhonen, backed by what seemed like hundreds of men in S.W.A.T uniforms. Azka cheered silently as Dib sighed with relief. Daft motioned to Corey as she spoke to the Police Chief.]  
  
"It's ok. We've got him contained right now. Leboa's keeping him down. He won't go anywhere with Leboa on him like that."  
  
"Oh. Good to see that you're ok Daft. Jhonen here told us you guys were under attack from a crazy person in a cloak and at first we figured it was just another crazy day at Dementia, but then he mentioned something about Corey and you guys being in danger and we knew then and there that we probably should get over here and help you out."  
  
"Thank you Jhonen!"  
  
[Daft skipped over to Jhonen and gave him a big hug. Jhonen, who at the time was eating a bagel, twitched as she squeezed him, looking down and hesitantly patting her on her head.]  
  
"Um...Yeah. You're welcome. I really only went out for a bagel...but I figured that these guys could help some. Did you know that the Bagel Heaven makes the best bagels around? They're really good. So delicious and...bagel- y..."  
  
[Daft nodded and regained her posture, walking back over to Corey who was being lifted up by three S.W.A.T members, Leboa still attached to him. Daft touched Leboa on her shoulder and motioned for her to let go. She sighed and let go, dropping to the ground to sulk beside Daft. Daft hugged Leboa and congratulated her.]  
  
"Great job sis. You'll come in handy in the future. Why don't you stay around and help out?"  
  
"But...I wanted to go hug Corey!"  
  
"I know, I know. But let's let him have some recovery time and let the police talk to him. We can go visit him after we're done rebuilding and fixing things up, Ok?"  
  
"Really?!"  
  
"Sure."  
  
"Ok!"  
  
[Leboa grins and starts to hum happily to herself as Azka, Dib, and Zim gather over by her. They all look very relieved to be out of this nightmare. Daft smiles at them as Dib starts laughing a bit. Azka's so relieved, she gets a great urge to hug someone. Turning to Zim and Dib, Azka grabs hold of Dib and squeezes him tight. He blinks, a bit weak to reject and finally gives in, hugging her back. Azka then lets go of him and comes after Zim. She grabs hold of him and Zim cries out, a bit shocked that she'd try to hug him. He pulls away and steps back.]  
  
"No! There's NO hugging the Zim!"  
  
"Awwww...C'mon! Dib let me hug him!"  
  
"That's because he's a stupid sentimental human dirt bag! I am an Irken Invader! We do not hug..."  
  
[Azka leapt at him, grabbing him and hugging him tight. Zim squirms, trying to get out of her grasp, but she just holds on tighter and longer. Zim sighs, giving in and hugs her back. Daft smiles at them and Leboa runs up and hugs Dib as well. She then comes over and latches onto Azka and Zim who are just finishing hugging. She squeezes them both tight and hangs on, smiling. Azka and Zim start to cough, having the air squeezed out of their lungs. Finally, Daft pries Leboa off of them long enough for them to catch their breath. Daft hugs each one and thanks them. Azka stands back, dusting herself off and addresses them all.]  
  
"Daft, I'd just like to thank you for having me on the show. It was fun....in a disturbing sort of way, that is. We really must do it again sometime..."  
  
[Azka let out a nervous chuckle and looked about. Daft nodded, catching her drift.]  
  
"Thanks Leboa for....something...I dunno what that is exactly, but thanks anyway. Thank you as well, MiniMoose and Jhonen. I'm really sorry you lost your camera crew..."  
  
"I'm sorry you lost Kris and Joe."  
  
"Then let's have a moment of silence for them."  
  
"That'd be a splendid idea."  
  
[Daft shushed everyone in the room.]  
  
"Ok everyone. We'd like to have a moment of silence for those that have fallen in this nightmare of an event."  
  
[Everyone bowed their heads and the room grew silent. The only sound was that of some more debris falling in the background. Daft prayed that wherever the remaining camera crew was that they were safe and not dead. Azka thanked Kris and Joe in her mind and vowed to never forget them. With the moment of silence now over, the crew went back to stomping out fires and hauling Corey off. Jhonen walked out, eating his bagel as Azka said good bye. Daft waved good bye as well, promising her that if she ever did come back, things wouldn't be as hectic. Azka lef the set with a weak smile on her face and not-so-paranoid anymore. Once outside though, she was stopped by three guys in white coats and hauled into the Ambulance against her will. They apparently didn't care if she claimed to be well or not. She had a bunch of nasty scratches on her and they were going to treat them. As the ambulence sped away, Daft, Zim, and Dib stepped outside.  
  
Feeling the cool night air against their faces, they smiled, relieved to be out of that nightmare. Inside, Dementia's Hallway set was destroyed. The whole building had some damage to it throughout it, wether it was just a mess from broken equiptment or total damage from the Firegun Corey weilded. Firemen and a reconstruction crew had arrived and were sifting through the damage. Daft stood off to the side, Leboa having gone off with the Police to visit Corey when they were done questioning him, standing with Dib and Zim. She pulled them close and hugged them once more. Zim pulled away promptly to yell at her and Dib kinda blushed and squirmed out of her grip.]  
  
"That's enough hugging Daft! We're ok! We're alive! STOP HUGGING ZIM!"  
  
"Oh Zim...what's so wrong with me hugging you? Is it against your whole 'IRKEN INVADER CODES'? Because if it is, drop it. This is Earth."  
  
"Not only is it against the codes...you're creepy and annoying!"  
  
[Daft laughed and grinned at him. Dib watched the two and rolled his eyes.]  
  
"You bet I am. Now gimmie a hug Zimmy-wimmy!"  
  
"Noooooo! Never!"  
  
[Daft grabbed him and hugged him as Zim screeched and squirmed in her grasp. Dib shook his head and watched as they started to bring out the stretchers. Daft turned to Dib and grabbed him as well.]  
  
"Hey! Wait! Don't hug me either! Enough with the hugging!"  
  
"I wuv you guys! My precious Zimmy and Dibby. Hugglies for everyone!"  
  
[Dib and Zim screamed, pulling away from her and running off screaming into the night. Daft pretended to run after them, calling after them to come back.]  
  
"WAIT! WAIT! DON'T LEAVE ME! I LOVED-ED YOU! COME BAAAAAACK! I STILL HAVE MORE HUGGLIES!"  
  
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"  
  
[Daft laughed into the night, turning back around to stare as they began to haul out the fallen. Daft sighed and turned her back on the scene to stare out into the night. Just like the good host she was, she began talking to herself in attempts to explain it to whoever was watching from across the street, as well as her own brain which was still spinning a bit.]  
  
"Well, Demented Ones...This is it. Corey attempted to take us down and we defeated him before he could succeed. There for a while it seemed as if Dementia was through, but we came out victorious in the end. Many fell in the name of Dementia, and those who did fall won't be forgotten. We'll always keep them in our hearts and minds. The future of Dementia, you ask? We're not done yet, folks. We plan to replace the camera crew and anyone else that was killed or ran off scared that they were going to die, and we're going to fix up Dementia and come back with all new episodes. We won't let this small catastrophe keep us down! We'll come back, not to worry. But for now...I guess we'd better get to work on replacing the crew and rebuilding. Thank you for staying with us, even in our darkest hour. We hope to be back on air soon. Hope you don't mind the wait. Thank you for tuning in to Dementia, though I'm sure this isn't even being filmed...Thank you anyway, those of you who stood and watched from across the street. Tune in next time for an all new, twisted, DEMENTIA! Until then, Demented ones...this is Daft, signing off for the night."  
  
[With that, Daft turns and walks back into the Dementia building to go help the others. The magical camera that WAS following this tilts upwards slowly towards the night sky, focusing on the black velvet, the tiny white twinkles showing though, sparkling and making patterns across the darkness. The camera slowly fades to black and you're left standing there, taking it all in, wondering just what will come next. This, my friends, is the end for now. Turn off the TV and go back to whatever you were doing before. Dementia will return, just you wait. Until then, enjoy your sanity...] 


End file.
